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AUTHOR: 


BETHUNE,  GEORGE 

WASHINGTON 


TITLE: 


EXPOSITORY  LECTURES 
ON  THE  HEIDELBERG  ... 

PLACE: 

NEW  YORK 

DA  TE : 

1864 


Restrictions  on  Use: 


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EXPOSITORY    LECTXTEES 


OX   ''I!B 


HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM, 


V 


BY 


GEORGE  W.   BETHUNE,  D.  D. 


I 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  L 


NEW  YORK: 
SHELDON   AND   COMPANY. 

335   BItOADWAY,   COR.    WORTH   ST. 
1864. 


■'      • 


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Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1864,  by 

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to  tlM  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York 


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DEDICATED 

TO  THE 

REFORMED  DUTCH  CHURCH  OP  AMERICA, 

THK  CHURCH  OF  THE  AUTHOR'S  ADOPTION  AND   LOVE, 

TO  AYHICH  THE  THIRTY-SIX  YEARS  OF  HIS  MINISTRY  WERE  DEVOTED, 

IN  THE  LENGTHENING  OF  ITS  CORDS  AND  THE 

STRENGTHENING  OF  ITS  STAKES. 

$n   tj)fs  €:t)utc!), 

MAY  HIS  WORDS  STILL  WIN  SOULS  TO  CHRIST, 

'  IS  THE  PKAYKR  OF  HIS   SORROWING 

WTDOW. 


8TKBE0TTPBI*    ilT  H.   0.   HOPGUTON   A-\D  CO. 


C  A.   ALVORI>,   rEINTEK. 


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PREFACE. 


V' 


m 


TN  this  work  the  public  are  presented  with  the  best 
literary  monument  of  its  illustrious  author.     The 
subjects  are  the  highest  within  the  range  of  theological 
science  ;  and  Dr.  Bethune  brouglit  to  their  discussion 
the  ripeness  of  his  intellectual  powers,  a  classic  beauty 
of  style,  and  the  riches  of  a  library  well  stored  in  this 
particular  department.     In  view  of  this  exposition,  he 
had  collected  the  principal  commentators  on  the  Hei- 
delberg Catechism.     As  the  lectures  were  prepared  for 
popular  audiences,  they  are  free  from  the  stiffness  of 
theological  formulas,  and  will  prove  interesting  to  all 
classes  of  readers.     While  this  Catechism  has  been  so 
widely  received,  and  has  become  the  standard  of  faith 
in  two  large  churches  of  our  country,  —  while  it  has 
engaged    the    attention   of  so    many  commentators  in 
Europe,  —  it   seems  singular  that  this   should  be  the " 
first  Ameiican  attempt  at  a  popular  exposition  designed 
for  the  press. 

It  is  a  misfortune  to  the  church  that  the  work  re- 
mains irjcomplete.  It  has  been  carried  forward  with 
careful  regard  to  the  catechetical  text  to  the  Thirty- 
fifth   Lord's  Day,  where  the  exposition  ends  with  an 


■'i/ 


VI 


PREFACE. 


introduction  to  the  second  commandment.  Sermons 
on  the  third  and  fourth  commands  have  been  added, 
because  they  are  some  of  the  finest  productions  of  the 
author's  pen,  and  because,  while  not  textual,  yet  they 
may  be  considered  a  fair  commentary  on  the  Thirty- 
sixth  and  Thirty-eighth  Lord's  Days.  The  work  has 
been  prepared  for  the  press,  and  a  full  index  and  table 
of  references  arranged,  by  a  friend  in  whose  critical 
taste  Dr.  Bethune  placed  great  confidence,  and  whom  he 
named  as  a  person  qualified  for  the  task.  Memoranda 
of  writers  upon  the  Catechism  were  found,  leading  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  author  designed  to  prepare  a 
list  of  such  writers,  as  a  history  of  its  literature.  This 
purpose  has  been  carried  out.  From  tliese  memoranda, 
some  investigations  of  my  own,  and  the  most  valuable 
assistance  of  Rev.  Mr.  Van  Gieson  of  Claverack,  I 
have  been  enabled  to  append  the  most  complete  cat- 
idogue  of  Heidelberg  commentators  tliat  has  ever 
been  published. 

Abm.  R.  Van  Nest,  Jr. 


'i 


•  "I 


CONTENTS   OF  VOLUME  L 

— • —  I 

tfTRODUCTORY  REMARKS g 

LECTURE  I. 
tHE   ONLY  COMFORT   OF   BELIEVERS         ....         12 

LECTURE  IL 
THE   KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR   MISERY 29 

LECTURE  IIL 

THE  FALL  OF   MAN    . 49 

LECTURE  IV. 

PUNISHMENT   OF   SIN yj 

LECTURE  V. 
NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR 97 

LECTURE  VL 

QUALITIES  OF   THE   MEDIATOR jjj 

LECTURE  VIL 
THE  PBOVISION*OF   A   MEDIATOR 137 

LECTURE  VIIL 
SAVING   FAITH J53 

LECTURE  IX. 
THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD 175 

LECTURE  X. 
THE   DOCTRINE   OF   THE   TRINITY  STATKD  .  .  .193 


Vlll 


CONTENTS. 


UrCTURE  XI. 

FAITH   IX   GOD   THE   FATHER       .  .  . 

LECTURE  XII. 

THE   PROVIDENCE   OF    GOD 


9  W  *  P 


LECTURE  Xin. 

THE   NAME   OF   JESUS  ... 

LECTURE  XIV. 

THE   TITLE,   CHRIST     . 


•  •  • 


LECTURU  XV. 

THE   80NSIIIP  AND   GOVERNMENT   OF   CHRIST 


LECTURE  XVL 


THE   INCARNATION      . 


•  • 


LECTURE  XVIL 


CHRI8TS  SUFFERING  AND   CROSS       . 


LECTURE  XVilL 


n*-< 


CHRIST  S   DEATH  AND   BURIAL 

LECTURE  XIX. 

THE   DESCENT    INTO    HELL 

LECTURE  XX. 

THE   RESURRECTION   OF    CHRIST 

LECTURE  XXL 
THE   ASCENSION   OF   CHRIST 


LECTURE  XXII. 

CHRIST   ON   THE   THRONE   A3   RUIJ':R    AND   JUDGK     . 


PAOI 
211 


235 


259 


.     287 


.     313 


.     3^1 


.     351 


.     373 


.     3D3 


.     417 


451 


.     4G9 


1^ 


EXPOSITORY  LECTURES 


ON 


THE   HEIDELBERG    CATECHISM. 


LECTURE   I. 


THE  ONLY  COMFOET  OF  BELIEVEBS. 


VOL.  I. 


•  i 


>  '   J 

>  :>    J  ) 


(»     ..,   T  !»  ,;  "J    •   ■:>    a  ,,:>      .,  „,  o  ,) ,      «      "»      T 


*  5 
•      •        •   •      _ 


.11 


t>  «• 


INTRODUCTORY   REMARKS. 

TT  is  a  peculiarity  of  our  Church,  that  she  not  only 
directs  her  children  to  be  taught  by  a  Catechism  the 
Christian  doctrine,  as  every  Church  of  the  Reforma- 
tion has  done,  but  also  orders  her  ministers  to  explain 
the  Catechism  which  she  has  adopted,  systematically 
and  regularly  before  her  congregations  on  the  Sabbath 
day ;  thus  securing  the  intelligent  acquaintance  of  her 
people  with  the  articles  of  our  holy  faith,  and  the  fidel- 
ity of  her  preachers  as  expounders  of  all  evangelical 
truth.     Originally  it  was  made  the  pastor's  duty  to  go 
through  the  exposition  once  a  year,  each  of  the  fifty- 
two  Sabbaths  having  its  assigned  part ;  but  the  Church 
in  this  country,  that  the  minister  might  have  a  more 
free  choice  of  topics,  sometime  since,  modified  the  rule, 
by  extending  the  time  over  four  years  ;  and  one  lecture 
or  more  in  each  month  will  meet  the  requirement  of 
that  authority  to   which  we  happily  owe  submission. 
I  undertake  the  difficult  work  the  more  cheerfully,  be- 
cause many  of  my  hearers  have  but  recently  associated  ' 
themselves  with  our  denomination  ;  because  the  method 
and  the  language  of  the  Catechism  is  well  chosen  for 
such  as  dv^sire  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  that  they 
may  live  by  it ;  because  many  hurtful  errors  are  lament- 
ably prevalent ;  and  because  Christ's  true  disciples  will 
always  gratefully  listen  to  plain,  scriptural  statements 


I! 


!•« 


■r.  Ill,  *  ^'        i|!'"'     ■- 


,.;•     •        • 


of  sanctifjrng  trattf^,:  At  the  same  time,  we  protest 
against  being  thought'"  to  hold  the  Catechism  in  equal 
estimation  with  '.tte/.W^rcl  of  God  "  ( J/arcA;  )  ;  or 
"that  orthodox:y ^'llourd'iAB'doiitl^d  by  any  other  stand- 
ard than  the  combined  writings  of  the  divinely  inspired 
Prophets  and  Apostles,  —  the  only  rule  of  faith  and 
practice  "  (^Zeigland^  U Enfant)  ;  —  but  we  do  hold  it  as 
the  symbol  of  our  belief,  and  the  test  of  adherence  to 
our  Reformed  Church,  into  which  no  one  has  a  ri^ht 
of  entrance  who  does  not  acknowledge  its  published 
confessions.  "  If,"  as  Van  der  Kemp  says,  "  we  believe 
the  doctrines  of  the  Catechism,  it  is  not  on  account  of 
the  Catechism,  but  of  God's  own  Word,  out  of  which 
and  according  to  which  the  Catechism  was  composed. 
If  we  prize  this  little  book,  we  love  the  Word  of  God 
more.  We  commend  it,  because  it  recommends  and 
explains  clearly  the  Word  of  God  to  us." 

Before,  however,  we  begin  its  exposition,  it  may 
not  be  out  of  place  to  give  a  very  brief  sketch  of  its 
origin  and  histor}'.  It  received  its  name  from  the  city 
of  Heidelberg,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Neckar,  now  in 
tie  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  but  formerly  of  the  Lower 
Palatinate,  or  Palatinate  of  the  Rhine ;  the  fertile  terri- 
tory of  which  is  now  divided  into  Prussia,  Bavaria, 
Baden,  Hesse  Darmstadt,  and  other  German  States. 
Heidelberg  becume  famous  by  the  establishment  of  a 
University  there,  in  1386  (the  oldest  of  the  German 
seats  of  learning  after  those  of  Prague  and  Vienna), 
which  contributed  greatly  to  the  enlightening  of  the 
Palatinate  and  the  circumjacent  countries.  ^  Early  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  Jerome  of  Prague  came  to  Hei- 
delberg, advocating  the  new  opinions ;  and  the  Univer- 
sity took  an  active  part  among  the  controversialists  of 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS.  5 

that  eventful  time.     In  April,  1518,  under  the  reign 
of  the  Elector  Ludwig,  Luther  came  from  Wittenberg 
to  bis  brethren,  the  Augustines,  at  Heidelberg,  and  sel 
up  public  disputations  in  their  monastery,  gaining  ai> 
plause  and  followers  among  the  members  of  the  Uni- 
versity  and   the  nobility  of  the   Palatinate.       These 
eminent    men,  but   especially  (Ecolampadius,  Martin 
Tucco,  and   Brentz,  pushed   the  cause  of  the  Refor- 
mation with  such  vigor  as  to  alarm  the  champions  of 
Rome,  who  prohibited  the  disputations  of  Luther  and 
his  friends,  citing  Brentz  and  his  associate,  Theobald 
Bilikan,    before     the    Chancellor     of    the    Electorate 
(Von   Banningen),  to  answer  the   charge  of  heresy, 
and  for  a  time  prevented  their  preaching ;  but  Frederic 
II.,  who  succeeded  his  brother,  the   Elector   Philip, 
being  well  versed  in  the  disputes,  and  zealously  devoted 
to  the  new  opinions,  began  at  once  the  Reformation  of 
the  Church ;  and  was  accomplishing  much  good,  when 
the  disastrous  battle  of  Mijhlberg  (24th  of  April,  1547 
in  which  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  the  leader  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, and   the   Landgrave   of  Hesse   were   made 
prisoners)  gave  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  the  power  to 
dictate  the  so-called  Interim,  by  which  the  main  tenets 
of  Popery  were  enforced.      The   Emperor's  triumph 
over  the  steadfast  friends  of  truth  did  not  last  long 
however;   and   by  the  memorable   treaty  of  Passau,' 
Aug.    2,   1552,    the  Germans   obtained   full    relicrjous  ' 
freedom.     The  Elector,  Otto  Heinrich,  following  the 
example  of  Frederic  II.,  whom   he  succeeded,  1556, 
abolished  the  mass,   with    other   idolatries   of   Rome, 
ordered  all  images  to  be  removed  from  the  churches, 
and  commissioned  Heinrich  Stolo,  Michael  Diller,  and 
Dr.  Marbach,  from  Strasburgh,  to  make  a  new  Church 


6 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


OfdeTi   or  ritual,   which   he   caused    to   be   publislied 
and   adopted  by  all  the  churches   of  the  Palatinate. 
He  also  established  at  Heidelberg  an  "  Ecclesiastical 
Council,"  the  first  members  of  which  were  Diller,  the 
court  chaplain,  the  electoral  Chancellors  Ehren  and 
ErafI,  and  afterwards,  on  the  recommendation  of  Me- 
lancthon,  Tielman   Hesshus.      Already,   however,  the 
opinions  of  Zuinglius,  who  held  the  true  doctrine,  con- 
trary to  the  consubstantiation    of  Luther,  had   many 
adherents  at  Heidelberg;   and  disputes  ran  high  be- 
tween   the    Iw©  schools.      The   pious   Frederic   IH., 
succeeding  Otto  Heinrich,  1559,  at  once  declared  him- 
self on  the  side  of  the  Zuinglians.    He  took  and  pursued 
his  measures  with  great  prudence,  but  no  less  zeal ;  and, 
after  a  sharp  controversy,  he  remodelled  the  churches 
of  the  Palatinate  after  the  form  of  the  Zuinorlian-Hel- 
vetic  pattern.     He  converted  a  college,  which  Fred- 
eric the  Second  had  established  at  Heidelberg,  into  a 
theological  seminary,  and  gave  it  professors  of  the  Re- 
formed (not  Lutheran)  opinions.     After  accomplishing 
this,  he  turned  all  his  attention  to  the  preparing  of  a 
catechism  for  the  churches  and  schools  of  the  Palati- 
nate.    There  were  already  several  catechisms,  besides 
that  of  Brenhius  and  that  of  Luther,  used  amonff  the 
Palatinate  churches,  causing  many  disputes  from  their 
iiscrepancies ;   and  they  needed  a  symbolical  book  of 
their  own,  clearly  setting  forth  the  true  Christian  doc- 
trine.    The  Elector  himself  says,  in  the  Preface  which 
he  wrote  to  the  first  edition  of  the  Heidelberor  Cate- 
chism,  1563,  that  it  was  written  in  order  to  remove  all 
error,  false  doctrine,  and    differences  of  opinion  from 
the  Church,  and  establish  the  Reformation  firmly.    The 
Elector  proposed  the  composition  of  the  Catechism,  in 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS.  7 

1562,  to  Zachary  Ursinus,  a  learned  professor  at  Hei- 
.  delberg,  and  Casparus  Olevianus,  the  court  preacher, 
a  favorite  of  Frederic.  Each  took  part  in  the  com- 
position of  the  book.  Olevianus  arranged  his  as  a 
simple  illustration  of  the  covenant  of  grace ;  Ursinus 
prepared  two  forms  of  a  catechism,  —  one  for  children 
in  the  schools,  another  suited  to  the  more  advanced. 
From  the  labors  of  both,  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  was 
produced,  —  the  system  of  which  must  be  attributed  to 
Ursinus.  It  is,  however,  certain  that  Frederic  himself 
took  part  in  the  work,  especially  in  the  answer  to  the 
Seventy-eighth  Question,  which  the  Elector  says  he 
altered  from  the  words  of  Theodoret,  for  reasons  as- 
signed. 

The  Catechism  having  been  completed  in  the  same 
year  that  it  was  begun,  Frederic  assembled  in  a  synod 
at  Heidelberg  all  the  superintendents  and  preachers  of 
the  Palatinate,  whom  he  expected  to  examine  the  book 
carefully,  and  see  that  it  was  every  way  accordino-  to 
the  Word  of  God.     Part  of  the  church  in  which^he 
synod  met  is  still  standing.     They  zealously  performed 
the  part  assigned  them,  and,  expressing  their  wonder  at 
the  learning  and  the  precision  shown  in  it,  heartily  ap- 
proved it,  particularly  and  as  a  whole,  recommending 
its  adoption  and  publication.    It  was  immediately  trans- 
lated into  Latin  by  two  learned  professors,  Lago  and 
Pithozao,  and  published  in  both  languages  at  Heidel- 
berg, 1563,  by  John  Mayer,  under  the  title  of  "  Cate- 
chism, or  Christian  Instruction,  according  to  the  usages 
of  the  Palatinate  Churches  and  Schools." 
^  Though  the  Latin  version  was  published  at  the  same 
time  with  the  German,  the  German,  or  original,  is  the 
authentic  copy ;  "  in  which,"  says  Alting,  "  everything 


'O 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


it 


ii  not  only  more  elegantly,  but  also  more  impressively 
set  Ibrtli/' 

The  first  edition  is  now  extremely  rare.  It  differs 
not  a  little  from  our  present  copies  in  foi-m,  words,  and 
style,  some  things  being  wanting  which  were  afterwards 
added,  and  some  things  supplied  which  were  afterwards 
hft  out.  Il  is  not  divided  into  the  sections  for  the  suc- 
cessive Lord*s  days.  The  paragraphs  are  not  distinctly 
separated,  questions  and  answers  being  thrown  togeth- 
er. The  scriptural  proofs  are  few,  and  not  always  well 
chosen.  The  Eiglitieth  Question,  for  some  unknown 
reason,  is  wholly  omitted. 

The  first  edition  was  followed  in  the  same  year  by 
another,  having  the  same  title  and  editor,  so  that  it 
could  not  be  recognized  as  distinct  but  for  the  insertion 
of  tlie  Eightieth  Question,  and  a  note  at  the  end,  stating 
that  it  was  added  upon  the  order  of  the  Elector.  The 
language  of  the  Eightieth  Question  is  not,  however, 
the  same  with  that  which  we  now  have,  (probably  from 
some  desire  not  unnecessarily  to  ofiend  the  Papists,)  but 
is  in.  these  words :  "And  is  not  the  mass,  in  truth,  noth- 
ing else  but  an  idolatrous  denial  of  the  sole  accepted 
sacrifice,  the  sufferings  of  Christ  ?  "  There  was,  prob- 
ably, yet  a  third  edition  in  1563 ;  as  a  copy,  in  other 
respects  like  the  second,  gives  the  conclusion  of  the 
Eightieth  Question  somewhat  differently ;  possibly,  how- 
ever, a  new  page  was  substituted  in  later  impressions 
of  the  second.  The  inconvenience  of  the  early  arrange- 
ment was  so  much  felt,  that  the  fourth  edition  (with 
same  title)  was  issued  by  Mayer,  1573  (duodecimo), 
in  which  the  questions  and  answers  are  divided  and 
numbered,  and  marked  for  the  fifly-two  Lord's  days. 

Tlie  most  iraluabfe  eiMm^  rf  these  times  is  yet  pub- 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


9 


11 


lished  at  Neusfadt  on  the  Hardt,  1595  (octavo),  with 
the  title;  "  Cateclrism,  or  Brief  System  of  Christian  Doc- 
trine ;  together  with  the  Church  Ritual,  Prayers,  and 
appropriate  Proofs  from  Holy  Writ.    Also,  the  Defence 
of  the  Heidelberg  Theologians  against  the  unfounded 
charges  and  attacks  with  which  this  Catechism  and  its 
excellent  Proofs  out  of  Scripture  liave  been  unfairly 
pursued.     Also,  the  Opinion  of  Martin  Luther  on  the 
Bread-breaking  in  the  Holy  Supper.     Also,  Answers 
and  Counter-questions  on   the  Six   Questions  on  the 
Holy  Supper,  and  in  which  particulars  the  Evangeli- 
cal Churches  agree  or  differ  respecting  the  Holy  Sup- 
per; arranged  by  Zacharias  Ursinus."     The  Defence 
given  in  this  previous  edition  is  masterly. 

The  division  of  the  Catechism  into  its  three  principal 
parts,  as  set  forth  in  the  Second  Question  and  Answer, 
was  imitated  from  the  order  of  Scripture  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  as  we  learn  from  the  Prolegomena, 
(preface)  of  Ursinus  himself  It  is  also  stated  by  sev- 
eral learned  divines  (Theo.  Marck  in  his  Catechetical 
Defence,  Dontrein  in  his  Golden  Treasure,  and  Von 
Alpen  in  his  Prolegomena),  that  the  arrangement  fol- 
lowed is  that  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

The  Catechism  was  the  object  of  many  and  long- 
continued  attacks  from  various  quarters,  but  was  man- 
fully and  successfully  defended  until  it  gained  the  con- 
fidence and  praise  of  all  the  Reformed  Churches ;  editions  - 
of  both  tlie  German  and  Latin  versions  were  numerous, 
and  many  commentaries  and  expositions  by  way  of  ser- 
mons were  written  upon  it,  —  the  best  of  which  is  that 
of  Ursmus  himself,  published  from  notes  taken  from  his 
lectures  on  the  work  at  Heidelberg,  1569-77,  corrected 
and  edited  by  David  Parens,  1591-98. 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


:  i 


I 


The  Catecliism  has  been  translated  into  nearly  all 
the  civilized  languages.     A  Greek  translation,  intended 
for  the  churches  of  that  name,  was  made  by  Frederic 
Sylburg,  and  sent  at  the  expense  of  the  States-Gen- 
eral to  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople.     The  Belgian 
government  had  it  translated  into  Spanish,  that  it  might 
be  lised  in  the  West  Indies.     The  Swiss  churches  re- 
constructed the  Catechism  of  Zurich  after  its  clearer 
expositions.     The  Reformed  churches  of  Hungary  or- 
dered it  to  be  taught  and  explained  in  their  churches, 
schools,  and  tHilversities.     It  received  high  commenda- 
tions from  the  pious  and  learned  in  England;  while 
almost  universally  on  the  continent  it  was  acknowl- 
edged as  a  symbolical  book  of  the  Reformed  churches. 
It  was  rendered  into  Hebrew,  Greek,  Dutch,  Spanish, 
French,  English,  Italian,  Bohemian,  Polish,  Hungarian, 
Arabic,  and  Malay,  as  well  as  in  German  and  Latin. 
It  has  passed  tlirough  not  less  than  five  hundred  thou- 
sand editions,  through  the  press  of  Germany  alone. 

But  in  no  country  was  it  more  highly  honored  than 
in  Holland,  It  was  early  made  the  symbolical  book  of 
the  Dutch  Chnrch,  ordered  to  be  taught  in  their  schools 
and  universities,  and  expounded  regularly  from  their 
pulpits.  All  their  preachers,  and  teachers,  and  profes- 
sors were  sworn  to  hold  and  promulgate  its  doctrines  ; 
mt  was  afij  mt  admitted  to  church-membership  who 
did  not  profess  its  faith.  In  the  most  mournful  times 
of  persecution,  Peter  Gabriel  encouraged  the  constancy 
©f  his  suffering  brethren  by  preaching  from  it  at  Am- 
sterdam. It  was  first  approved  by  the  Dutch  divines  who 
were  exiles  for  their  creed,  in  an  assembly  at  Wessel, 
1568 ;  the  lesser  national  synod  of  Dordrecht,  1574, 
required  that  all  their  teachers  of  religion  should  sign 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


11 


1 


the  Catechism  at  the  same  time  with  their  Confession 
of  Faitli ;  and  the  great  synod  of  Dordrecht  directed 
their  formularies  to  be  prepared,  —  the  first  to  be  signed 
by  professors    of  theology,    the  second  by  preachers, 
and  the  third  by  school-m asters, —  declaring  and  prom- 
ising  the   strictest  adherence  to  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism.    The  first  and  second  formularies  are  preserved 
in  use  among  our  churches  here  to  this  day.     Many 
most  learned  theologians  from  all  parts  of  Europe  beincr 
present,  by  invitation,  at  that  synod,  united  with  their 
Dutch  brethren  in  thoroughly  examining  it,  and  gave 
it   tlie   most   unreserved   and   highest   commendadon. 
From  the  mother  churches  of  Germany  and  Holland, 
it  was  brought  by  their  children  to  this  country,  and  is 
now  the  symbolical  book  of  the  Reformed  German  and 
Dutch  churches  of  North  America ;  where  mav  God 
long  maintain  its  holy  teachings. 

Thus  you  may  see,  dear  fellow-Christians,  through 
what  care  and  unanimous  devotion  of  pious,  learned 
men  the  Lord  of  the  Church  has  prepared  and  pre- 
served tliis  admirable  compend  of  his  pure  truth  for  us. 
The  little  book  which  your  children  studv,  has  stood 
the  shock  of  Popery  and  heresy  through  bloody  centu- 
ries,—strengthening  the  weak,  and  making  heroic  the 
strong.  Well  may  we  study,  with  devout  and  thankful 
hearts,  a  manual  so  sacred  in  its  doctrines  and  associa- 
tions. 

You  will  remark,  however,  that,  unlike  most  books 
of  the  kind,  our  Catechism  takes  the  order  of  Christian 
experience  ;  was  prepared  for  those  professing  to  be 
Cliristians,  and  should  be  expounded  accordingly.  May 
God  aid  me  in  the  exposition,  and  bless  you  in  the  hear- 
ing, for  the  honor  of  his  holy  name.     Amen. 


1 


r  I 


i 


FIRST  LORD'S  DAY. 

THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS. 

Quest.  I.     What  is  thine  only  comfort  in  life  and  death  f 

Ans.  That  T,  with  body  and  soul,  both  in  life  and  death,  am  not  my 
own,  but  belong  unto  my  faithful  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  who,  with  his 
precious  blood,  hath  fully  satisfied  for  all  my  sins,  and  delivered  me  from 
all  power  of  the  devil;  and  so  preserves  me,  that  without  the  will  of 
my  heavenly  Father,  not  a  hair  can  fall  from  my  head ;  yea,  that  all 
things  must  be  subservient  to  my  salvation;  and,  therefore,  by  his 
Holy  Spirit  he  also  assures  me  of  eternal  life,  and  makes  me  sincerely 
willing  and  ready  henceforth  to  live  unto  him. 

Quest.  II.  How  many  things  are  necessary  for  thee  to  knaw^  that  thou, 
enjoying  this  comfort,  mnyest  live  and  die  happily  f 

Ans.  Three :  the  first,  how  great  my  sins  and  miseries  are ;  the  second, 
how  I  may  be  delivered  from  all  my  sins  and  miseries;  the  third,  how 
I  shall  express  my  gratitude  to  God  for  such  deliverance. 

THE  answer  to  the  First  Question  tells  us  in  a  few 
words,  what  those  great  doctrines  of  the  Scriptures 
tre,  from  which  the  Christian  derives  his  sure  and  only 

comfoft. 

The  answer  to  the  Second  Question  states  the  or- 
jer  which  will  be  followed  throughout  the  Catechism, 
by  a  division  of  all  Christian  knowledge  necessary  for 
our  salvation  into  three  parts. 

The  several  truths  contained  in  both  these  answers 
will  be  discussed  at  length  as  we  proceed,  step  by  step, 
with  our  study  of  the  book.  At  present,  therefore,  we 
sliall  only  ask  you  to  mark  — 

First:  The  comfcyrt  ivhich  a  Cliristian  has  in  his 
religious  belief. 

Secondly  :  The  method  by  which  he  attains  a  knowl- 
edge of  this  comfort. 


,  lect.  l]     the  only  comfort  of  believers.  13 

First:   The  comfort  which  a   Christian  has  in  his 
religious  belief. 

My  beloved  friends,  —  the  Catechism  does  not  err, 
but  follows  the  high,  infallible,  binding  example  of  the 
Holy  Ghost   throughout  the    Scriptures.      When   the 
evangelical  prophet,  moved   by  divine   influence,  pro- 
claimed, as  the  voice  of  God,  the  blessings  of  Christ's 
approaching  kingdom,  he  commanded  the  messengers 
of  grace,  saying  :  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people, 
saith  your  God.     Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem, 
and  cry  unto  her  that  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  that 
her  iniquity  is  pardoned  ;  for  she  hath  received  of  the 
Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her  sins."     When  the  ano-el 
came  to  the  shepherds  with  the  annunciation  of  Christ's 
•  advent,  what  were  his  words?    "  Fear  not ;  for  behold, 
I  bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall  be  to 
all  people."     When  Jesus  himself  preached,  what  was 
his  argument  to  gain  the  ears  of  the  people  ?     "  If  any 
man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink."    «  Come 
unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest."     What  is  the  name  given  by  the 
blessed  Master  to  his  truth  but  the  Go^el,  or  good 
news,  which  he  has  ordained  shall  be  preached  to  every 
creature  ?     Nay,  does  not  the  term  salvation  imply  that 
there  is  a  danger  of  misery  from  which  we  are  to  be 
rescued,  and  is  not  the  hope  of  safety  a  comfort  ?     The 
Catechism  is  right  in  bringing  religion  to  us  under  the  * 
name  of  comfort ;  nor  is  the  promise  of  comfort  discord- 
ant with  the   inculcation  of  duty,  as  the   subsequent 
teachings  of  the  book  will  show. 

The  chief  end  of  man,  in  his  salvation,  as  in  his 
creation,  is  the  glory  of  God ;  but  the  glory  of  our 
divine  Maker  and  Redeemer  is  closely  connected  with 


THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.       [Lect.  I. 

„  iappiness  of  all  who  faithfully  obey  him.     It  was 
that  he  might  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  fam- 
iy  of  creatures  reflecting  in  their  happiness  his  own 
blessedness,  that  he  made  our  race ;  it  is  that  he  may 
behold  a  family  of  penitent  sinners  happy  agam  and 
forever,  that  he  has  established  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion.     The  holy  angels,  who  advance  by  their  glad 
service  the  glory  of  their  Lord,  are  happy  in  their 
ministry ;  and  man,  while   he   continued   sinless,  was 
happy  in  his  heavenly  Father's  approbation.     The  re- 
Itftion  of  the  creature  to  the  Creator  makes  it  necessary 
that  the  happiness  and  obedience  of  the  subject  should 
be  inseparable,  and  also  — his  disobedience  and  miserj% 
It  is  only  when  his  intelligent  creatures  break  the  right- 
eous laws  which  God  has  given  for  their  guidance,  and   • 
Aus  dash  themselves  against  the  immutable  principles 
of  his  government,  that,  to  manifest  the  glory  of  his 
justice,  he  makes  them  miserable  in  their  sins,  as  the 
fallen  angels  are,  and  as  fallen  men  are,  except  they  be 
saved  through  faith  in  Christ  and  repentance  toward 
God.     The  process  of  the  Gospel  is  the  conversion  of 
the  sinner  from  sin  to  hoHness ;  that  through  holiness 
he  may  be  restored  to  happiness.     It  is  our  duty  to  be 
happy,  because  happiness  lies  in  contentment  with  all 
the  divine  will  concerning  us.     Therefore,  the  Chris- 
tian is  not  selfish  or  blameworthy  in  seeking  his  own 
happiness  from  that  religion,  by  the  avowal  and  prac- 
tice of  which  he  endeavors  to  glorify  God  on  earth 
and  prepare  for  glorifying  him  more  perfectly  beyond 
the  grave.     Indeed,  it  is  our  enjoyment  of  the  Chris- 
tian*religion,  which  proves  our  sincerity,  for  when  we 
trulY  love  God  we  must  find  his  service  a  great  delight. 
Jesus,  our  divine  Master  and  holy  example,  served  Gud 


Lect.  l]     the  only  comfort  of  believers.  15 

for  the  "joy  that  was  set  before  him,"  counting  it  his 
meat  and  his  drink  to  do  the  will  of  his  heavenly  Fa- 
ther, and  we  follow  in  his   steps  when  we  fight  the 
Christian  fight,  run  the  Christian  race,  and  keep  the 
Christian  faith,  cheered  by  the  hope  of  winning  through 
grace  the  crown  of  life,  which  God  for  Christ's  sake 
has  prepared  for  all  who  love  him.     It  is  because  God 
would  animate  our  zeal  by  such  motives  that  he  has 
given  us  so  many  exceeding  great  and  precious  prom- 
ises,  causing  the  holy  Scriptures  to  be  "  written  for  our 
learning,  that  we  through  faith   and   comfort  in  the 
Scriptures  might  have  hope." 

There  is  much  meaning  in  the  use  of  the  word  com- 
fort, to  express  the  Christian's  enjoyment  of  religion,  as 
it  supposes  that  the  person  who  is  comforted"^  would 
otherwise  be    oppressed  by  trouble.     The  angels  are 
happy  m  heaven,  but  they  need  no  comfort,  for  they 
have  no  sorrow.     Our  first  parents  needed  no  comfort 
until   sin   brought   trouble  upon   them ;   but  Lamech 
called  the  name  of  his  son  Noah  (or  Rest),  because, 
said  he :  "  This  same  shall  comfort  us  concerning  our 
work  and  toil  of  our  hands,  because  of  the  ground 
which  the  Lord  hath  cursed."     Eeligion  does  not  at 
once  deliver  us  out  of  trouble ;  on  the  contrary,  « it 
IS  good  for  us  to  be  afflicted;"  but  it  comforts  us  in 
tribulations,  through  which  we  enter  the  kingdom  of ' 
trod,  enabhng  us  to  bear  with  patience  our  many  sor- 
rows, and  to  resist  with  courage  our  many  temptations, 
by  the  assurance  that  God  loves  us  now,  and  has  pro- 
vided  for  us  an  eternal  rest  hereafter.     When  we  reach 
heaven  we  shall  need  no  comfort,  because  our  troubles 
will  be  over  forever. 

Hence  the  Catechism  speaks  of  our  "  comfort  in  life 


( 


■"  ^:_ 


i    t 


i 
I 


THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.       [Lect.  L 

and  death."  While  life  lasts  our  troubles  will  last,  and 
death  is  a  fearful  trial  to  the  stoutest  heart ;  but  wheu 
we  have  passed  through  and  survived  that  final  agony, 
our  joy  will  be  perfect  and  secure.  Until  then  we  have 
great  need  of  comfort,  and  find  it  in  our  Christian  re- 
ligion, which,  though  it  does  not  make  our  present  life 
perfectly  happy  (for  tliis  is  not  our  rest),  is  rich  in 
comfort  to  all  that  believe.  Hence  the  Holy  Ghost, 
through  whose  gracious  influences  we  receive  the  truths 
of  the  Gospel,  is  called  the  Comforter,  and  those  who 
enjoy  his  grace  are  said  to  "  walk  in  the  comfort  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  Of  this  the  Apostle  Paul,  our  best 
example  of  a  Christian,  and  of  a  Christian  preacher 
after  Christ,  had  sweet  experience,  as  we  know  from 
many  texts  in  his  writings,  but  especially  from  the 
preface  of  his  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  : 
'^  Blessed  be  God,  even  the  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  mercies,  and  the  God 
of  all  comfort,  who  comforteth  us  in  all  our  tribula- 
tion, that  we  may  be  able  to  comfort  them  which  are 
in  any  trouble,  by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves 
are  comforted  of  God." 

Thii  is  the  believer's  "  onli/  comfort."  They,  who 
have  never  acquainted  themselves  with  the  God  of 
salvation,  may  find  some  passing  comfort  in  things  of 
the  present  world,  but  at  the  end  will  reap  shame  and 
eternal  disappointment,  since  things  gross  and  perish- 
able can  never  satisfy  the  spiritual  and  immortal  soul ; 
but  the  Christian  looks  up  to  God,  saying :  "  Whom 
have  I  in  heaven  but  thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon 
earth  that  I  desire  besides  thee.  My  flesh  and  my 
heart  faileth  ;  but  God  is  the  strength  of  my  heart, 
and   my  portion   forever."      He   is   conscious   of  his 


lkct.  l]     the  only  comfort  of  believers. 


17 


spiritual  immortality,  and  knows  that  God  alone  can  fill 
his  immortality  with  blessedness.  He  draws  many  com- 
forts through  the  creatures  of  God,  but  only  through 
them  as  the  channels  in  which  they  flow  down  to  him 
from  God,  the  overflowing  Fountain.  Without  God,  he 
has  notln'ng ;  with  God,  he  has  all  things.  It  is  the  truths 
of  religion  which  assure  him  of  the  Divine  favor  to  his 
soul ;  and,  therefore,  in  religion  he  finds  his  only  comfort. 
The  Catechism  is  right  in  its  first  question,  for  it  puts 
our  religion  to  the  closest  proof,  when  it  demands : 
"  What  is  our  only  comfort  in  life  and  in  death  ?  " 

The  believer's  answer  to  this  question,  states,  firsts 
a  main  fact;  then,  the  particulars  contained  in  the 
fact. 

I.  A  main  fact. 

"  That  I  with  my  body  and  soul,  both  in  life  and 
death,  am  not  my  own,  but  belong  unto  my  faithful 
Saviour,  Jesus  Christ." 

The  natural  pride  of  man's  heart  resists  the  thought 
of  subjection  to  God,  and  of  dependence  upon  him. 
This  was  the  essence  of  man's  first  sin,  when,  tempted 
by  the  devil,  he  sought  to  be  a  god  unto  himself.     So, 
every  man,  unconverted  from  the  iniquity  of  the  fall, 
loves  not  to  retain  the  thought  of  God,  but  walks  after 
the  choice  of  his  own  heart.    He  would,  perhaps,  shrink 
from  denying  the  existence  or  sovereign  providence  of 
God ;  but,  ])ractically,  every  man  who  does  not  live  in 
the  fear  of  God,  depending  gratefully  upon  divine  care 
and  conscious  of  his  responsibility  to  the  Great  Judge, 
is  an  atheist  at  heart.     The  Christian  has  been  changed 
from  this  proud  temper  by  faith  in  the  Gospel ;  and 
he  considers  it  his  happiness  that  he  is  not  his  own 
but  belongs  to  God  in  Christ ;  that  he  is  the  Lord's, 


VOL.  I. 


18  THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.        [Lect.  I. 

not  only  by  creation,  for  surely  what  is  made  out  of 
;l"/ Jongs  to  the  Maker,  but  also  by  vedempt,on, 
Wu":  having  been  rescued  from  eternal  rum   he  « 
Se  ^Shtful  property  of  his  Saviour ;  that  h.s  body  .s 
Z  Lo  d-s,  fL'wlL  its  life  with  all  its  facult.es  .s 
dTrived,  and  by  whom,  when  death  returns  ,t  to  the 
dust,  it  will  be  kept  for  a  glorious  immortahty ;  Aat 
M.  ^ul  is  the  Lord's,  with  all  its  capact.es  and  affec- 
™  ,  to  he  taught,  ruled,  sanctified,  and  employed  by 
h rfor  his  glory^  that  his  life  is  tj-e  Corel's,  to    e  spen 
ia  his  holy,  pleasant  service  ;  and  that  >-  J-^^  *^ 
Lord's,  because  his  closing  tnumph  I'^^'/l"'!     f  J^^; 
„al  being  after,  will  praise  the  mercy  of  1'-  R-l« 
through  whose  gracious  power  he  is  ra.sed  from  the 
depths  of  sin  to  the  heights  of  heaven. 

He   belonc^s   to   Christ   by   a    threefold    obl.gation. 
Christ  has  bougM  him.     His  Hfe  and  happiness  were 
forf       to  divide  justice ;   but   Christ   has    redeemed 
Si  f««a  eternal  death  by  the  subst.tut.on  of  lums^f 
to  bear  the  wrath  of  God,  and  so  Christ  has  acquued 
a  full  ri.ht  over  him,  as  the  purchase  of  ns  atonement. 
First,  1.:  belonged  to  God  his  Creator,  then  he  was  m 
•L  righteous  hands  of  God  his  Judge   but  m.v  he  b. 
loners  to  God  the  Saviour.     "  Thme  they  were     said 
the\lessed  Mediator,  speaking  of  his  '-'1'^;;^°;^^ 
Father,  «  and  thou  gavest  them  me.'       fhe  h  ather,  as 
the  representative  of  the  Godhead  agamst  whom  they 
had  sinned,  gives  them  to   the  incarnate  Son  as  the 
i^presentative  of  both  the  Godhead  and  «'-  C'--     '" 
the  plan  of  salvation  ;  but  gives  them  not  w.thou    a 
price.     They  are  delivered,  transferred,  set  over  to  ^be 
Saviour  by  virtue  of  the  eternal  covenant.     Cl.r.st  has 
fulfilled  his  part  in  satisfying  the  honor  of  the  d.vme 


..ECT.  I.]        THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.  19 

Jaw  which  they  had  broken,  and  now  the  Father  fulfils 
his  part  in  giving  them  to  Christ  as  his  own  pecuHar 
property.  Wherefore  the  apostle  says :  «  Ye  are  not  your 
own,  for  ye  are  bought  with  a  price :  therefore,  glorify 
God  ni  your  body  and  in  your  spirit,  which  are  God's." 

Again,  we  are  exhorted  to  look  for  the  "appearing 
of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who 
gave  hnnself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people  (or 
a  people  of  his  own)  zealous  of  good  works."     Yet 
again:   "Forasmuch   as   ye   know  that   ye  were  not 
redeemed  with  corruptible  things,  as  silver  and  gold 
....  but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of 
a  lamb   (a  lamb  sacrificed   for   sin)   without  blemish 
and  without  spot."     All  the  property  which  God,  as 
Creator  and  Judge,  had  in  the  believer  is  now  trans- 
ferred to  God  the  Saviour. 

This  the  believer  acknowledges  when  he  accepts  the 
atoning  work  of  Christ.  He  is,  therefore,  Christ's  by 
his  own  vow.  He  gives,  surrenders  himself  to  Christ, 
making  a  covenant  with  him,  promising  on  his  part  to 
serve  the  Saviour  by  divine  help  all  the  days  of  his 
life,  and  Christ  on  his  part  engaging  to  save  him  until 
the  uttermost. 

Then,  as  a  gracious  consequence,  the  believer  belongs 
to  Christ  because  he  is  a  member  of  that  f^pintual  body, 
whose  Head  is  Christ,  There  is  much  meant  by  the 
mystery  of  the  believer's  union  with  the  body  of  Christ,, 
which  he  cannot  ai  nresent  understand  ;  but  this  we  do 
know,  that  through.  .  ith  he  lives,  because  Christ's  life 
IS  in  him,  that  he  is  corporated  with  Christ  in  the  en- 
joyment of  all  those  blessings  which  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  has  obtained  from  the  Father ;  and  that  he  is 


'W^mi 


M 


n 


-  t 


I 


20 


THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.        [Lect.  I. 


one  with  Christ  in  all  the  future  glory  of  his  Head. 
It  is  thus  a  vital  union  ;  the  believer  is  a  member  of 
Christ's  "  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones  ;  "  it  is 
a  fruitful  union,  Christ  animating  him  to  all  good 
works ;  for,  by  another  figure,  he  is  said  to  be  grafted 
in  Christ  as  a  branch  in  a  vine,  which  bears  fruit  from 
the  energy  diffused  through  it  by  the  vigorous  stem  ; 
it  is  an  indissoluble  union,  for  the  body  cannot  be  separ- 
ated from  its  immortal  Head ;  "  because  I  live,"  says 
the  Saviour,  "  ye  shall  live  also." 

Therefore  does  the  Christian  rejoice  that  he  is  "  not 
his  own,  but  belongs  unto  his  faithful  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ."  Were  he  his  own,  he  would  be  left  to  the 
care  of  himself;  but  now  because  he  is  Christ's,  Christ 
will  take  care  of  him  as  his  own,  as  the  purchase  of  his 
blood,  as  a  member  of  his  body,  as  the  instrument  of 
his  glory,  and  as  a  trophy  of  his  triumphant  grace. 
This  leads  us  to  consider  — 

il.  The  particulars  included  by  the  main  fact. 

1.  Pardon,  —  Christ "  hath  fully  satisfied  by  his  own 
blood  for  all  his  sins."  Did  he  belong  to  himself,  he 
would  be  obliged  to  meet  in  his  own  person  all  the 
guilty  consequences  of  his  many  offences  against  God, 
and  be  unavoidably  overwhelmed  by  eternal  wrath ; 
but  now  Christ  claims  him  at  the  hands  of  divine  jus- 
tice as  his  ;  interposing  his  atonement  between  the  ven- 
geance of  God  and  his  ransomed  one,  covering  the 
unworthy  with  his  merits,  representing  the  penitent  in 
his  ever-prevalent  prayers,  claiming  for  him  acceptance 
with  himself,  in  whom  the  Father  is  well  pleased.  Oh, 
how  precious,  in  this  light,  is  the  fact  that  we  belong 
not  to  ourselves,  but  to  our  faithful  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ  I 


V 


Lect.  I.]       THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS. 


21 


2.  Deliverance  from  danger. --'' And  hsith  delivered 
me  from  all  power  of  the  devil."  This  deliverance  is 
twofold.  The  devil,  full  of  malice  against  men,  is 
employed  by  God  as  an  executioner  of  divine  ven- 
geance ;  and  in  this  permitted  capacity  he  claims  the 
impenitent  for  his  victims;  but  our  faithful  Saviour, 
stronger  than  our  arch-enemy,  and  in  his  right  as  the 
Redeemer,  rescues  the  captive  out  of  his  cruel  hands. 
So  far  as  sin  had  given  Satan  a  right  over  the  body 
and  soul  of  the  sinner  that  calls  to  Christ  for  help,  he 
destroys  death  and  him  that  has  the  power  of  death ; 
placing  the  penitent,  now  his  own,  eternally  beyond 
his  baffled  rage.  This  deliverance,  however,  is  a  part 
of  pardon,  which  we  have  already  treated  of. 

But  sinners  are  said  by  the  Scripture  to  put  them- 
selves wilfully  under  the  control  of  the  devil,  when 
they  comply  with  his  temptations.  They  admit  his 
sophisms,  by  which  he  leads  the  godless  astray,  into 
their  minds,  and  so  their  conscience  is  deadened  or 
perverted;  their  crimes  against  God,  often  repeated, 
acquire  the  fettering  force  of  habit ;  nay,  they  get  a 
fearful  proclivity  to  evil,  accelerating  in  impulse  as 
they  go  downward,  until,  if  divine  grace  do  not  arrest 
them,  they  plunge  from  the  wickedness  of  this  world 
to  the  yet  more  awful  wickedness  of  hell.  Hence 
they  are  said  to  be  "  sold  (like  slaves)  under  sin  ;  "  to 
be  "  led  captive  of  the  devil ;  "  to  be  "  in  bondage  to 
Satan."  Oh,  how  shall  the  sinner,  if  left  to  himself, 
break  these  more  than  iron  chains  ?  How  shall  he  de- 
liver himself  from  this  fatal  bondage?  How  shall  he 
escape  from  his  cunning,  cruel  master  ?  "  Blessed  be 
God ! "  exclaims  the  penitent  believer,  "  I  belong  to 
my  faithful  Saviour  Jesus  Christ;    he   is  my  master 


22 


THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.        [Lect.  I. 


I 


>  f 


now ;  he  has  bought  me  for  his  own  with  his  most 
precious  blood ;  he  will  not  leave  me  in  my  helpless- 
ness ;  by  his  Holy  Spirit  he  will  break  the  fetters  from 
my  soul ;  he  will  give  me  liberty  ;  his  love  will  be  a 
refuge  where  my  old  master  cannot  reach  me.  Stronger 
is  he  that  is  for  me,  than  all  that  be  against  me."  The 
deliverance  may  not  be  complete  at  once,  for  sancti- 
fication,  in  the  wise  process  of  grace,  is  a  gradual 
work ;  the  devil  yields  not  his  possession  of  our  hearts 
easily,  and  the  conflict  there  of  sin  with  godliness  may 
be  sharp  ;  but  the  deliverance  is  begun  in  regeneration ; 
it  is  carried  on  by  an  Almighty  Power;  its  certainty  is 
assured  by  divine  promise.  The  charm  of  Satan  over 
the  believer  is  met  by  a  master  charm  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  "for  he  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins." 
The  Seed  of  the  woman  has  so  bruised  the  old  ser- 
pent's head,  that  the  weakest  saint  shall  break  him 
down  under  foot,  and  trample  over  him  into  life,  free- 
dom, and  joy  eternal.  Oh,  thanks  again  to  God,  that 
Christ  owns  us,  and  we  are  not  our  own  I 

3.  Preservation,  —  *'  And  so  preserves  me,  that  with- 
out the  will  of  my  heavenly  Father,  not  a  hair  can  fall 
from  my  head ;  yea,  that  all  things  shall  be  subservient 
to  my  salvation."  If,  instead  of  belonging  to  his  Saviour, 
the  Christian  owned  himself,  his  condition  were  most 
miserable,  for  he  would  own  nothing  but  himself,  while 
all  around  him  — all  that  is  necessary  to  his  happiness, 
all  present  and  future  events  affecting  his  welfare,  are 
the  Lord's,  and  ordered  by  the  Lord,  on  whose  good- 
ness he  has  no  claim  ;  he  would  be  alone,  helpless, 
utterly  destitute  and  needy.  Now,  Christ  owns  him  ; 
and  as  a  faithful  master  cares  for  his  own  servant, 
whom  he  has  bought  so  dearly;   and  all   things  are 


Lect.  L]       the  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS. 


23 


Christ's,  and  he  turns  all  things  for  the  good  of  Jus 
own.     The  God  of  salvation  is  the  God  of  adoption. 
The  believer  is  united  to  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God 
incarnate,  therefore  God  adopts  him  as  his  child ;  and 
the  heavenly  Father  will  never  suffer  any  real  evil  to 
come  upon  his  regenerate  children.     When  the  Father 
gave  to  Christ  the  sinners  whom  he  redeems,  he  gave 
all  things  into  Christ's  hands,  that  he  might  be  Head 
over  all  things  to  his  Church.    All  power  is  given  unto 
Christ,  and  all  his  sovereign  prerogative  he  employs  for 
the  benefit  of  his  own  peculiar  people.     He  has  made 
their  eternal  salvation  his  glory,  and  none  can  pluck 
those  whom  he  preserves  out  of  his  affectionate  em- 
brace.    Life  is  the  time  of  the  Christian's  preparation 
for  eternity  ;  every  thing  that  concerns  him  here  has  a 
bearing  upon    his   state  hereafter,  therefore   does   his 
faithful  Saviour  take  the  tenderest  care  of  him  now 
and  until  he  is  brought  home.     He  is  "  kept  by  the 
power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation  ready  to  be 
revealed  in  the  last  time."     So  nice  and  intense  is  this 
care  that  the  very  hairs  of  his  head  are  numbered. 
Not  one  of  them  falls  to  .the  ground  without  his  Fa- 
ther's will.     Nay,  all  things  work  together  for  his  good. 
The  process  is  begun,  is  now  carried  on,  and  will  be 
steadily  furthered  until  the  design  is  consummated  in 
the  believer's  full  redemption.     Cheerfully,  then,  does 
the  believer  commit  his  all  to  Him  to  whom  he  has 
committed  himself;  his  time,  to  him  who  takes  charge 
of  his  eternity,  the  regulation  of  his  circumstances  on 
earth,  to  him  who  has  prepared  for  him  a  blissful  heaven. 
If  he  had  the  care  of  himself,  he  might  well  despair ; 
but  now  that  Christ  has  the  care  of  him,  he  knows  he  is 
safe,  —  his  body  safe,  his  soul  safe,  safe  in  life,  safe  in 


m iiiiiipiiiiiii ninnipiiiii|iiiiiiii 


aiMi  ■■!■%»■■; 


THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.        [Lect.  L 


i  I 


I 


I 


1 


death,  safe  forever.  His  griefs  may  be  many,  his 
temptations  strong,  his  infirmity  extreme,  and  therefore 
he  cannot  help  being  troubled ;  but  he  has  comfort 
amidst  all,  because  he  belongs  to  his  faithful  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  whose  grace  is  sufficient  for  him. 

4.  Assurance.  —  "  By  his  Holy  Spirit  he  also  assures 
me  of  eternal  life,  and  makes  me  sincerely  willing  and 
ready  henceforth  to  live  unto  him."  Man,  left  to  his 
lywn  unassisted  reason,  could  never  have  ascertained 
the  character  or  will  of  God,  much  less  discovered  the 
plan  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ ;  but  the  faith- 
ful Saviour  having  undertaken  to  rescue  his  own  from 
all  the  consequences  of  their  sins,  makes  their  instruc- 
tion sure  by  the  grace  of  his  Holy  Spirit.  Holy  men 
of  old  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  write  the 
books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  which  together 
constitute  the  Word  of  God,  our  only  rule  of  faith  and 
practice;  and  therefore  all  we  know  of  religion  we 
have  been  taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Scriptures 
are,  however,  by  themselves  addressed  to  men  or  Chris- 
tians (as  the  case  may  be)  generally ;  and  experience, 
nay,  the  Word  itself,  shows  that  no  man  applies  the 
testimony  of  the  revelation  to  his  own  case,  until  the 
same  divine  Agent  w^ho  inspired  the  testimony  moves 
the  sinner's  heart  to  perceive  himself  addressed  by  it ; 
but  then  discovering  his  guilt  and  danger,  he  also  sees 
the  sufficiency  of  atonement  offered  on  his  behalf,  and 
trusts  in  Christ  as  his  Saviour.  Such  personal  faith  — 
the  appropriating  of  the  Gospel  to  our  own  souls  —  is 
the  effect  of  the  Spirit's  testimony  in  our  hearts  corre- 
sponding to  his  testimony  in  the  Scriptures,  and  consti- 
tutes our  assurance  of  salvation,  —  by  which  salvation 
we  mean,  according  to  Scripture,  the  full  accomplish- 


) 


Lkct.  l]      the  only  comfort  of  believe«s. 


25 


ment  of  the  Saviour's  purpose  of  eternal  love  toward 
the  sinner  that  believes  on  his  name.  Thus  we  read : 
"  No  man  can  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord  but  by  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  "  and  again  :  "  He  that  believeth  on  the 
Son  of  God  hath  the  witness  in  himself;  "  and  yet 
again  :  "As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
they  are  the  sons  of  God.  For  ye  have  not  received 
the  spirit  of  bondage  again  to  fear ;  but  ye  have  re- 
ceived the  spirit  of  adoption  whereby  ye  cry,  Abba, 
Father.  The  Spirit  also  beareth  witness  with  our 
spirit  that  we  are  the  children  of  God;  and  if  children, 
then  heirs ;  heirs  of  God  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ." 
The  promise  assures  complete  salvation  to  all  who  be- 
lieve ;  when,  therefore,  we  believe,  God  by  his  own 
testimony  assures  complete  salvation  unto  us. 

But  it  will  be  asked.  May  not  a  sinner  deceive  him- 
self in  thinking  that  he  believes  when  he  does  not  ? 
Is  there  not  a  counterfeit  of  true  faith  ?  and  if  so,  how 
may  we  attain  the  assurance  of  our  salvation  ?     The 
Catechism  meets  the  inquiry.     There  is  indeed  a  coun- 
terfeit faith,  but  it  may  be  detected  by  its  fruitlessness, 
while  on  the  other  hand  a  true  faith  shows  itself  in  its 
sanctifying  effect  on  the  life  and  character.     The  pur- 
pose of  the  Saviour  is  to  save  his  people  from  their 
sins;    perfect  salvation,   which    is   perfect   holiness,  is 
achieved  only  in   heaven,   but  it  is  begun   on   earth. 
Repentance  is  the  beginning  of  salvation,   the  pulsa- 
tions of  a  new  life  which  is  eternal.     The  believer  is 
conscious  of  this  great  change.     He  is  yet  a  sinner,  he 
sees  his  sinfulness  more  plainly  than  ever,  he  feels  his 
weakness  and  utter  inability  to  contend  with  the  temp- 
tations that  beset  him  ;  but  he  no  longer  dehVlits  in 
sm  ;  his  desire  is  to  do  the  will  of  God,  and,  by  divine 


I 


! 


t   i 


I 


26 


THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.        [Lkct.  L 


help,  to  resist  all  evil.  Amidst  all  his  failures  and 
imperfections  he  discovers  a  new  principle  at  work  in 
his  soul  which  can  have  been  engendered  there  only 
by  divine  power.  This  is  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit. 
The  same  Holy  One  who  testifies  in  the  Scriptures  and 
in  the  hearts  of  sinners,  testifies  in  the  believer's  life, 
making  him  who  was  once  a  rebel  now  "  sincerely 
willing  and  ready  henceforth  to  live  unto  Christ."  Oh 
what  a  ha[)})iness,  what  a  comfort  it  is,  that  we  belong 
unto  Christ,  who  not  only  has"  died  for  us,  but  by  his 
Spirit  lives  in  us,  working  through  us  his  holy  pur- 
pose !  When  we  can  claim  this  comfort,  "  Christ  is 
formed  in  us  the  hope  of  glory." 

Secondly:  The  method  hy  which  the  Cliristian 
attains  a  knowledge  of  this  comfort. 

This  is  not  the  time  to  dwell  upon  the  answer  to  the 
Second  Question,  as  it  only  sets  forth  in  brief  what  will 
be  shown  more  fully  hereafter.  The  order  given  is, 
however,  most  natural,  and  according  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  Scriptures. 

I.  He  must  know  how  great  his  sins  and  miseries 
are.  Unless  he  knows  himself  to  be  a  sinner,  he  will 
imt  feel  his  need  of  pardon  ;  unless  he  sees  his  miseries, 
lie  will  not  see  his  need  of  a  Saviour ;  unless  he  feels 
that  his  sins  and  miseries  are  great,  he  will  not  be 
zealous  in  escaping  from  them  to  the  great  salvation 
provided  for  him.  None  but  those  who  are  conscious 
of  being  lost  can  discover  that  Jesus  is  the  Saviour 
they  need.  This  is  set  forth  in  the  second,  third,  and 
fourth  Lord's  days. 

II.  He  must  know  how  he  may  be  delivered  from 
all  his  sins  and  miseries.  This  includes  a  knowledge 
of  the  whole  Gospel,  —  the  purpose  of  God,  the  media- 


Lkct.  I.]        THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS. 


27 


tion  of  Christ,  and  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which 
is  taught  from  the  fifth  to  the  thirty-second  Lord's 
days. . 

III.  He  must  know  how  to  express  his  gratitude  for 
such  deliverance  to  God  his  Saviour.  This  includes 
all  his  duty,  to  which  the  Catechism  gives  the  yet 
higher  name  of  gratitude;  the  true  Christian  being 
moved  to  render  it  with  a  cheerful  zeal,  not  only  be- 
cause God  has  a  right  in  him,  but  also  because  he  de- 
lights in  recognizing  and  meeting  the  claims  of  a  Bene- 
factor so  gracious,  upon  all  his  heart  and  mind  and  life. 
This  is  treated  of  from  the  thirty-second  to  the  last 
Lord's  day. 

May  God  assist  our  farther  studies  by  his  Holy 
Spirit,  that  we,  being  convinced  of  sin  and  made  to 
know  the  preciousness  of  Christ,  may  find  our  only 
comfort  in  his  choice  of  us,  and  our  choice  of  him  as 
our  Saviour,  Master,  and  eternal  Fnend.     Amen. 


f  ' 
}  . 

I 


HI 


LECTURE  II. 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY. 


SECOND  LORD'S  DAT. 
THE   KNOWLEDGE  OF   OUE  MISERY. 

Quest.  III.     Whence  knowest  thou  thy  misery  f 

Ans.     Out  of  the  law  of  God. 

Quest.  IV.     What  doth  the  law  of  God  require  of  us  f 

Ans.  Christ  teaches  us  that  briefly,  Matt.  xxii.  37-40:  "Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with 
all  thy  mind,"  and  with  all  thy  strength.  "  This  is  the  first  and  great 
commandment;  and  the  second  is  like  unto  it:  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thj-self.  On  these  two  commandments  hang  all  the  law 
and  the  prophets." 

Quest.  V.     Canst  thou  keep  all  these  ihinqs  perfectly  ? 

Ans.    In  no  wise;  for  I  am  prone  by  nature  to  hate  God  and  my  neighbor. 

'T^HE  blessed  Master  himself  declares  the  reason  and 
-^    purpose  of  his  mediatorial  work,  when  he  says: 
"  The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which 
was  lost."     Had  not  God  been  angry  with  us  we  should 
not  have  been  miserable;   had  we  not  sinned  against 
God,  he  would  not  have  been  angry  with  us ;  had  we 
the  power  of  reconciling  ourselves  to  God,  we  should 
not  have  needed  a  Saviour ;   had  not  our  condemnation 
been  very  great,  we  should  not  have  needed  so  great  a 
Saviour ;  and  had  not  God,  our  righteous  Judge,  been 
infinitely  merciful,  he  would  not  have  "  sent  his  Onlv 
Begotten  Son,  that  whoso  believeth  in  him  might  jiot 
perish  but  have  everlasting  life."     It  was  our  ruin  that 
moved  the  pity  of  God,  our  helplessness  that  brought 
his  Son  to  be  our  Saviour,  our  guiltiness  that  made  the 
Saviour  a  sinless  sufferer  in  our  nature,  obedient  until 
death  on  our  behalf.      To  understand  and  ai)preciate 
the  salvation  by  Christ,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should 
know  our  misery,  its  source,  its  extent,  and  our  utter 


32 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.       [Lect.  II. 


Lect.  II.]        THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY. 


33 


*\\ 


dependence  upon  divine  grace  through  Christ  for  par- 
ixm^  favor,  a  new  Hfe,  and  immortal  happiness.  To 
teach  us  this  is  the  design  of  the  Church,  as  opened 
in  the  section  of  her  Catechism  for  the  second  Lord's 
dav  ;  from  which  we  learn. 

First  :   The  Test  of  our  condition : 
The  Law  of  God. 

Secondly  :   The  Requirements  of  the  Law  : 
Supremq  love  to  God  our  Lord,  and  love  to  our  neigh- 
boras  ourselves. 

Thirdly  :    Our  Inability  to  fulfil  thou  Eequirements : 
Being  prone  "  by  nature  to  hate  God  and  my  neigh- 
bor." 

FiasT ;  Th&  Law  of  God  is  the  test  of  our  condition  : 
According  to  the  Second  Question  and  Answer,  the 
first  branch  of  Cliristian  inquiry  is :  "  How  great  our  sins 
and  miseries  are."  The  Third  Question  is :  "  Whence 
knowest  tliou  thy  misery  ?  "  the  term  sin  not  being  re- 
peated ;  yet  the  answer  is  :  "  Out  of  the  Law  of  God  ; " 
which  is  an  implied  assertion  that  our  misery  is  penal 
or  the  effect  of  sin,  being  our  punishment  as  sinners, 
and,  therefore,  in  proportion  to  our  sins.  The  word 
and  character  of  God  allow  of  no  other  conclusion, 
since  we  cannot  believe  that  he  who  delights  in  good- 
ness and  mercy  would  willingly,  or  without  reason,  af- 
flict his  creatures.  Our  misery  can  come  only  from  his 
anger,  and  he  is  angry  only  with  the  wicked.  His 
favor,  which  includes  all  blessings,  is  promised  to  the 
obedient ;  his  curse,  which  includes  all  miseries,  is 
threatened  against  the  disobedient.  The  degree  of 
our  sin  is,  therefore,  the  measure  of  our  misery,  and 
that  we  mav  ascertain  this  we  must  look  into  the  Law 
of  God ;  for  if  we  have  not  kept  its  precepts,  the  pen- 


alties annexed  show  the  guilt,  or  obnoxiousness,  liability 
to  punishment,  which  we  have  brought  upon  ourselves. 
Hence  the  Law  of  God  is  the  only  true  test  of  our  con- 
dition. This  is  the  argument  in  brief,  which  we  may, 
not  without  profit,  examine  more  particularly. 

1st.     God  is  Sovereign  ;  by  which  we  understand, 
that  he  has  the  right  to  rule,  that  he  has  the  power  to 
rule,  and  Jiat  he  does  rule  over  all.    To  deny  this  were 
atheism  ;  for  the  fundamental  idea  of  God  is :  The  First 
Cause  of  all  things.     The  First  Cause  must  be  self-ex- 
istent and  independent  of  all.     The  same  will  which 
alone  could  create,  alone  can  preserve ;  and,  therefore, 
God  must  rule  over  all.     The  creation  includes  moral 
beings,  or  beings  who  have  a  sense  of  right  and  wrong, 
with  powers  to  act  accordingly ;  therefore,  the  admis- 
istration  of  the  Supreme  Will  must  be  a  moral  govern- 
ment.    Thus  tlie  fact  of  our  existence  proves  that  we 
belong  to  God ;  the  fact  of  our  preservation,  that  we 
are  under  the  control  of  God ;  and  the  fact  of  our  mor- 
al consciousness,  that  we  are  subject  to  the  moral  gov- 
ernment of  God.     If  our  lives  be  in  harmony  with  the 
principles  of  the  divine  government,  no  evil  can  reach 
us,  because  our  Preserver  is  Sovereign  over  all ;  but  if 
we  are  at  variance  with  his  will,  no  good  can  reach  us 
for  the  same  reason. 

But  how  may  we  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  divine 
will  which  should  be  the  rule  of  our  lives,  and  in  our 
conformity  or  opposition  to  which  we  are  to  find  happi- 
ness or  misery  ?  The  Catechism  answers :  "  Out  of 
the  Law  of  God ; "  that  is,  out  of  the  Law  which  God 
has  revealed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  For  it  is  clear 
that  none  but  God,  whose  infinite  wisdom  arranged  and 
ordained  theprinciples  on  which  he  administers  his  will, 


VOL.    I. 


9 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.        [Lkct.  II. 

can  discover  what  those  principles  are.  These  may  be 
dimly  perceived  in  the  processes  of  Providence  around 
us,  or  what  is  sometimes  called  the  fitness  of  things ; 
but  not  sufficiently,  for  besides  that  we  cannot,  from  the 
weakness  of  our  reason,  accurately  trace  the  visible  ef- 
fects back  to  their  unseen  causes,  the  development  of 
those  effects  is  as  yet  very  partial.  If  we  were  left  to 
learn  the  will  of  God  concerning  our  duty  from  the 
manifestations  of  his  providence,  we  should  have  to 
wait  until  eternity  before  we  could  begin  our  obedience, 
for  only  in  eternity  those  manifestations  are  complete. 
There  are  a  thousand  seeming  discrepancies  in  the 
providential  administration  of  human  affairs,  which 
God  will  not  vindicate  until  he  consummates  his  migh- 
ty  scheme  at  the  catastrophe  of  the  Judgment.  So 
oppressively  embarrassing  are  these  difficulties,  that  the 
irery  advocates  of  Natural  Religion,  who  bid  us  learn 
the  character  of  God  and  our  duty  from  the  fitness  of 
things,  make  them  their  strongest,  but  far  from  satis- 
factory, argument  for  a  future  state  of  reward  and  pun- 
ishment. 

Neither  can  conscience  be  a  trustworthy  oracle.  For 
conscience  does  not  itself  determine  right  or  wrong,  but 
is  only  our  faculty  of  recognizing  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  right  and  the  wrong,  when  they  are  present- 
ed to  us.  Recognition  is  very  different  from  discovery. 
It  is  one  thing  to  perceive  a  path  when  it  is  marked  out 
for  us,  and  another  to  find  out  a  path  for  ourselves ; 
so  it  is  one  thing  to  see  the  right  when  God  makes  it 
known,  and  another  to  decide  upon  what  is  right  with- 
out his  aid.  This  last  is  utterly  beyond  the  prerogative 
or  the  power  of  conscience.  Indeed,  conscience  needs 
education  like  any  other  human  faculty,  and  education 


Lect.  II.]        THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY. 


35 


\ 


supposes  some  fixed  fundamental  rules  to  which  it  must 
be  conformed.  No  faithful  parent  leaves  his  child  to 
learn  morals  from  its  conscience,  but  presses  rules  of 
right  upon  its  conscience.  The  variety  of  moral  opin- 
ions among  men  is  so  great,  that  were  it  possible  to  hold 
an  oecumenical  council  of  consciences,  there  is  scarcely  a 
point  of  morals  on  which  their  decree  would  be  unani- 
mous. Nay,  the  revolutions  of  moral  sentiment  in  the 
same  man  at  different  stages  of  his  experience  and 
knowledge,  show  how  uncertain  and  even  capricious 
the  judgments  of  conscience  are  when  left  to  itself. 

Besides,  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  conscience,  with- 
out a  distinct  reference  to  the  will  of  God,  is  not  right, 
since  that  were  making  conscience  and  not  God  our 
Judge  and  Lord.  For  a  man  to  think  that  he  can  do 
no  wrong  while  he  follows  his  conscience,  unless  his 
conscience  be  regulated  by  the  will  of  God,  is  a  self- 
idolatry  and  an  atheistical  pride.  A  human  govern- 
ment  does  not  try  its  subjects  by  their  consciences, 
but  by  its  own  laws ;  and  excuses  a  violation  of  its 
laws  only  in  those  who  are  not  capable  of  perceiving 
what  those  laws  require.  So  will  God  try  us  by  the 
laws  of  his  kingdom,  not  by  our  own  imaginations. 

The  judgments  of  individuals  being  so  imperfect,  the 
general  opinions  of  mankind  must  be  also  unworthy  of 
confidenc^.  A  long  and  traditional  experience  of  the 
good  or  ill  effects  consequent  upon  certain  courses  of 
action,  may  have  led  the  world  to  agree  respecting  some 
matters  immediately  affecting  our  interests ;  but  histoiy 
proves  the  failure  of  all  attempts  to  frame  a  system  of 
morals  without  wisdom  from  above.  The  best  and 
wisest  of  the  classical  philosophers  differed  widely 
among  themselves  as  to  the  very  definition  of  virtue ; 


36 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.       [Lect.  II. 


Lect.  II.]       THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY. 


m 


II 


while  some,  especially  Socrates,  the  most  exalted  of 
them  all,  humbly  confessed  that  the  line  dividing  right 
from  wrong  could  be  drawn  only  by  the  finger  of 
him  who  presides  over  the  universe. 

God  has  himself  excluded  all  question  on  the  subject, 
by  giving,  in  his  own  revealed  word,  the  law  to  which 
he  commands  our  conformity  on  pain  of  his  curse. 

The  Christian,  therefore,  goes  directly  to  God  for 
liitruction,  trusting  neither  to  the  discoveries  of  his 
reason,  the  dictates  of  his  conjteience,  the  opinions  of 
men,  nor  the  practices  of  the  world.  God  has  the 
sole  right  to  his  service,  and  he  asks  from  God  only 
how  that  service  should  be  rendered.  Thus  he  makes 
the  law  of  God  the  sole  test  of  his  condition,  sees  his 
crimes  in  his  transgressions  of  it,  and  his  misery  in  the 
punishment  which  it  threatens.  Until  he  looks  at  him- 
self in  that  mirror  of  infallible  truth,  he  can  never  judge 
of  his  moral  character ;  until  he  gets  a  response  from 
that  unerring  oracle,  he  can  never  know  what  awaits 
him  at  the  hands  of  his  God.  He  learns  his  "  misery 
out  of  the  law  of  God." 

Secondly  :   TTie  requirements  of  that  law. 

These  the  Catechism  shows  by  citing  the  words  of 
our  blessed  Lord,  Matt.  xxii.  37-40  ;  though  it  must 
be  noted  that,  in  giving  the  first  great  commandment, 
the  last  clause,  "  and  with  all  thy  strength,"  is  added 
from  the  parallel  passage,  Luke  x.  27;  and  that  our 
translator  of  the  Catechism,  by  carelessly  neglecting  to 
copy  the  Scripture  immediately  out  of  his  Bible,  has 
allowed  a  slight  but  displeasing  variation  from  the 
English  text,  which  difference  we  shall  correct. 

"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind  ; " 


i 


I 


and,  from  Luke,  "  with  all  thy  strength."  "  This  is 
the  first  and  great  commandment.  And  the  second  is 
like  unto  it :  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself. 
On  these  two  commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets." 

Our  divine  Saviour  did  not  give  these  comprehensive 
precepts  as  of  himself,  but  brought  them  together  from 
separate  parts  of  the  Pentateuch  ;  the  first  from  Dent, 
vi.  5 :  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thine  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
might ; "  the  second  from  Lev.  xix.  18  :  "  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  All  that  the  older  scrip- 
tures contain  of  divine  morals,  of  our  duty  to  God  and 
our  service  to  man  for  God's  sake,  are  summed  up  in 
these  two  commandments.  As  the  Apostle  Paul  says, 
Rom.  xiii.  10  :  "  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law  ; " 
and  again,  1  Tim.  i.  5 :  "  Now  the  end  of  the  com- 
mandment is  charity  Qove),  out  of  a  pure  heart,  and 
of  a  good  conscience,  and  of  faith  unfeigned ;  "  and 
the  Apostle  John  in  his  first  epistle,  iv.  16  :  "  He  that 
dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him;" 
iv.  21 :  "  This  commandment  have  we  fi-om  him  :  That 
he  who  loveth  God,  love  his  brother  also." 

Here  is  the  legislation  infinitely  perfect.     The  stat- 
utes of  human  governments  fill  many  volumes,  and  are 
then  proverbially  indefinite,  while  every  attempt  to  con- 
dense them  has  only  made  the  uncertainty  worse ;  bnt  ' 
the  whole  law  of  God  is  written  in  two  sentences,  the 
whole  duty  of  man  in  one  word  :  Love.    This  clear,  con- 
cise rule  covers  all  the  specifications  of  service  which 
God  requires  of  us  in  all  the  various  circumstances  in 
which  we  can  possibly  be  placed.     Love  is  the  bond  of 
perfectness,  the  golden  chain,  which,  depending  from  the 


11 


38 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.       [Lect.  II 


throne  of  our  Father  God,  and  i-etuming  to  it  again, 
Is  cast  around  the  brotherhood  of  his  human  children, 
Mnding  us  in  sweet  harmony  with  him  and  with  each 
other. 

Love  has  never  been  accurately  defined,  nor  can  it 

tit; but  we  know  its  meaning  from  our  consciousness 

and  from  its  effects.  We  love  that  being  whose  char- 
acter we  approve,  of  whom  we  delight  to  think,  whose 
excellences  we  endeavor  to  imitate,  whose  wishes  we 
desire  to  fulfil  and  in  whose  favor  we  find  happiness. 
Such  affection  we  may,  without  inconsistency,  have  at 
the  same  time  towards  several,  even  many  of  our  hu- 
mankind, according  as  they  have,  through  Providence, 
claims  upon  us  ;  but  our  supreme  love,  comprehending 
all  exercises  of  love  towards  his  creatures,  is  demanded 
by  God  for  himself  alone  :  *'  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength." 

These  several  terms  :  "  heart,"  "  soul,"  "  mind," 
"  strength,"  do  not,  it  should  be  stated,  convey  to  us 
the  precise  meaning  of  the  Greek  or  Hebrew  originals 
which  they  translate,  but  collectively  in  the  entire  verse 
they  give  the  full  meaning  of  the  Scripture.  To  define 
each  of  them  particularly  would  not  be  easy,  and,  if 
practicable,  would  require  a  nice  criticism  too  prolix 
for  the  aim  of  our  present  discourse.  Let  us,  there- 
fose,  devoutly  consider  the  scope  of  this  first  and  great 
commandment,  which  is,  that  We  must  render  the  Lord 
our  God  a  sup-eme,  intelligent,  zealous  love,  freely  conse- 
crating all  our  faculties  to  his  praise,  and  all  our  energies 
to  his  service. 

We  are  to  love  God  supremely,  "  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart."     Every  motive 


Lect.  II.]        THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY. 


39 


i' 


which  prompts  love,  should  urge  us  to  love  God  above 
all.  If  intellectual  excellence  attracts  our  admiring 
regard,  God  is  omniscient,  the  author  of  all  light,  the 
source  of  all  truth  ;  if  moral  beauty  wins  our  affection- 
ate esteem,  his  holiness,  justice,  goodness,  and  mercy  are 
infinite  ;  if  favors  received  and  favors  expected,  claim 
our  gratitude,  from  him  alone  is  our  being,  with  all  its 
capacities  of  enjoyment,  and  all  we  do  or  can  enjoy ; 
if  rightful  authority,  administered  in  faithfulness  and 
considerate  kindness,  be  entitled  to  a  prompt,  unswerv- 
ing, devoted  lo^^alty,  he  is  our  Owner  because  our 
Creator,  our  Ruler  because  our  Preserver,  our  Law- 
giver because  Supreme  Lord  of  the  universe,  whose 
precepts  are  our  sure  only  guides  to  happiness,  because 
obedience  is  accordance  with  his  will;  and  his  chosen 
glory,  the  design  of  his  government,  is  the  best  good 
of  his  intelligent  subjects,  comprehending  all,  yet  over- 
looking none.  No  creature,  therefore,  should  be  al- 
lowed to  rival  him  in  our  affections  ;  he  must  have  all 
our  hearts,  and  none  be  admitted  there  except  in  har- 
mony with  our  highest  reverence,  esteem,  and  love  for 
him  who  is  the  Lord  our  God. 

We  are  to  love  God  intelligently,  "  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  mind."  God  has  en- 
dowed us  w^ith  understanding  and  reason,  that  we  may 
know  liim  and  perceive  the  arguments  which  he  ad- 
dresses through  our  minds  to  our  affections.  The 
faculty  of  will  or  choice  which  he  grants  us,  cannot 
be  exercised  rightly  unless  intelligently.  We  are  not 
to  love  even  the  Lord  our  God  without  motive,  or  an 
appreciation  of  his  claims  upon  our  love.  We  are, 
therefore,  to  employ  our  minds,  above  all  else,  in  the 
study  and  contemplation  of  those  claims  that  we  may 


40 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.       [Lfxt.  IL 


Lect.  II.]       THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY. 


41 


\i   . 


by  tlie  very  force  of  logic,  cheerfully,  yet,  as  it  were, 
of  a  moral  necessity,  fix  our  hearts  supremely  upon 
him  to  whom  of  right  they  belong.     We  must  dili- 
gently read  his  Word,  in  which  he  reveals  himself  for 
our  learning ;  we  must  observe  his  works,  in  which  he 
demonstrates  himself  to  our  senses  ;  we  must  investi- 
gate his  doctrines,  meditate  on  his  attributes,  apply  his 
laws  to  our  consciences,  trust  in  his  promises,  set  his 
threatenings  between  us  and  what  he  has  forbidden, 
while  we  practice  his  commands,  that  through  experi- 
ence we  may  be  continually  acquiring  greater  proof 
of  their  wise  goodness ;  and  especially  must  we  seek 
by  earnest,  humble  prayer  the  sanctifying  grace  of  his 
iUmninating  Spirit,  that  in  close,  personal,  habitual  com- 
munion with  God,  we  may  grow  more  like  him  as  we 
know  more  of  him.     Thus  consecrating  all  our  facul- 
ties to  his  praise,  we  shall  love  the  Lord  our  God  with 
all  our  hearts  and  with  all  our  minds. 
We  are  to  love  God  zealousli/. 
« Thou  Aall  love  the  Loid  thy  God  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  witTi  all  thy  strength." 

Soul,  here,  according  to  both  the  originals,  signifies 
the  will,  or  rather  the  determined  puq)ose  of  a  man ; 
and  strmgtk^  M«  powers  of  external  action.  The  two, 
therefore,  may  be  expressed  by  zeal,  which,  as  we  ordi- 
narily understand  it,  is  ardor  of  pursuit,  or  earnest  pur- 
pose carried  out  in  correspondent  action.  A  supreme, 
intelligent  love  for  God  our  Creator,  Sovereign,  and 
Judge,  cannot  be  inoperative.  The  reasons  for  which 
we  love  God,  his  authority  and  character,  show  how 
our  love  is  to  be  proved.  If  we  love  him  as  our  Cre- 
ator, all  our  faculties  should  be  consecrated  to  his  glory ; 
if  we  love  him  as  our  Ruler,  we  should  delight  to  obey 


all  his  commandments ;  if  we  love  him  as  our  Bene- 
factor, gratitude  should  make  us  continually  intent  upon 
rendering  him  returns  for  his  kindness.  Thus  we  truly 
love  him  with  all  our  hearts  and  with  all  our  minds, 
only  when  we  endeavor  to  serve  him  with  all  our  pow- 
ers in  their  utmost  energy.  Hence,  love  comprehends 
our  fidelity  to  God  as  his  subjects,  and  our  dutifulness 
as  his  children.  If  we  love  him  with  all  our  hearts, 
and  know  what  he  requires  of  us,  the  entire  conformity 
of  our  lives  to  his  will  is  certainly  secured. 

This  is  the  only  service  which  God  can  accept  or  a 
rational  creature  render.  The  laws  of  man  refer  only 
to  the  external  conduct,  because  the  human  eye  can 
look  no  further;  yet  is  an  unwilling  obedience  admitted 
to  have  no  merit,  and  we  always  consider  the  good  or 
evil  of  an  act  to  lie  in  the  motive.  But  God  looks  in 
upon  the  heart,  and  according  as  he  sees  that  love  to 
him  is  or  is  not  tho  ruling  principle  of  our  actions,  will 
he  accept  or  disown  us,  whatever  our  overt  acts  may 
be.  He,  who  refuses  his  love  to  God,  the  perfection 
of  moral  beauty  and  the  centre  of  all  obligation,  does 
not  love  goodness  or  justice  or  holiness,  evinces  a  spirit 
at  war  with  the  welfare  of  the  universe,  and  is  justly 
punished  for  so  monstrous  a  depravity.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  who  renders  such  love  to  God  is  justly  re- 
warded for  an  obedience  which  on  every  opportunity 
will  be  overtly  shown. 

Such  service  is  necessary  to  the  happiness  of  the 
creature.  Our  happiness  can  come  only  from  God  who 
has  so  fenced  us  in  by  his  laws,  that  our  welfare  de- 
pends on  our  conformity  to  them  ;  but  to  obey  one 
whom  we  do  not  love,  is  to  do  what  we  hate,  thus  turn- 
ing our  seeming  compliance  with  right  into  a  source  of 


, 


42 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.        [Lkct.  II. 


Lkct.  II.]        THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY. 


43 


i 


I . 


misery.  The  highest  reward  of  obedience  is  love,  and 
love  alone  can  earn  it.  Love  is  the  strong  charm  by 
which  God  prompts  the  discharge  of  every  duty  springing 
firom  *«  fefitions  of  life,  —  as  the  duty  of  the  husband, 
the  wife,  the  parent,  the  child,  the  friend,  or  the  patriot. 
How  much  more  is  love  necessary  for  our  duties  to 
God !  If  we  love  him,  we  can  never  do  enough  for 
him,  all  our  inclinations  will  be  absorbed  by  a  desire  to 
please  him,  and  his  honor  will  engross  all  our  energies. 

The  Second  Commandment  is  like  to  the  first ;  like 
in  authority,  because  emanating  from  the  same  divine 
source ;  and  like  in  the  character  of  the  duty  which  it 
enjoins.  Love.  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self." It  is  included  in  the  first,  because  he,  who  has 
a  right  to  all  our  heart  and  sill  our  service,  has  the 
right  of  commanding  our  love  and  service  for  those 
whom  he  commends  to  our  regard. 

Our  blessed  Master,  in  his  parable  of  The  Good 
Samaritan,  has  clearly  defined  "  our  neighbor "  to  be 
tvery  human  being  brought  by  the  providence  of  God 
within  the  reach  of  our  kindness.  The  duty  is  to  God 
the  Father  of  all  men,  and  required  for  our  fellow-man 
as  his  child.  Selfishness  may  restrict  itself  within  nar- 
row boundaries,  but  a  soul  elevated  to  the  love  of  God 
looks  over  all  such  littlenesses  and  comprehends  the 
whole  brotherhood  of  mankind. 

The  degree  of  loving  service  which  we  are  to  ren- 
der our  neighbor  is  to  regard  his  welfare  as  we  do  our 
own.  The  precept  clearly  allows  a  certain  degree  of 
self-love,  and  insists  upon  no  fanciful,  impracticable 
disinterestedness.  I  am  to  love  my  neighbor,  because 
God  is  his  Father ;  but  for  the  same  reason  I  am  to  love 
myself,  since  he  is  my  Father  also,  and  he  has  in  a 


peculiar  degree  committed  my  happiness  to  my  own 
keeping.  Our  love  for  ourselves  is  taken  for  granted, 
being  the  standard  by  which  our  love  for  our  neighbor 
must  be  adjusted,  and  therefore,  not  inconsistent  with 
it ;  so  that  we  should  err  if  we  regarded  another's  wel- 
fare to  the  neglect  of  our  own.  Nor  can  we  love  all 
men  alike,  since  we  are  commanded  by  Scripture  and 
Providence  to  love  some  especially,  as  those  of  our  own 
household  and  those  of  the  household  of  faith.  We 
are  to  love  ourselves  consistently  with  the  law  of  God, 
and  according  to  its  directions ;  so  we  are  to  love  our 
neighbor,  rendering  them  all  that  affectionate  service 
which  God  enjoins  with  the  same  readiness  that  we 
would  benefit  ourselves. 

The  Master  himself  has  given  us  the  best  commen- 
tary on  the  law  of  love  to  our  neighbor,  in  Matthew 
vii.  12,  where  he  says:  "All  things  whatsoever  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to 
them."  That  is,  Whatever  we  could  properly,  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  God,  expect  from  others  in  certain 
circumstances,  we  are  in  similar  circumstances  to  do 
readily  for  them,  though  they  be  never  so  unworthy 
of  such  kindness,  since  it  is  a  duty  which  we  owe  not 
to  them  personally,  but  to  God,  and  to  them  for  his 
sake.  At  the  same  time,  the  promise  is  distinctly  con- 
veyed that  such  service  of  our  neighbor  has  sure  ten- 
dency to  advance  our  own  welfare. 

How  clear  is  this  rule,  and  how  universally  applica- 
ble, when  we  carry  the  measure  due  to  others  within 
our  own  bosoms !  How  happy  would  the  world  be,  if 
all  men  acted  towards  each  other  on  this  principle  I 
But  how  vain  must  be  all  attempts  to  secure  the  com- 
mon welfare  of  the  race,  upon  any  system  of  ethics 


44 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.        [Lect.  II. 


Lect.  II.]        THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY. 


45 


I 


short  of  that  which  first  lifts  man  out  of  all  sinful  self- 
ishness to  the  love  of  God,  and  then  enables  him  from 
tliat  generous  fountala  1^  mingle  his  love  with  the  love 
ol  the  universal  Father  as  it  descends  in  blessing  upon 
all  his  children  ! 

Farther  discussion  of  these   two  commandments   is 
reserved  for  the  time  when  we  must  consider  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  Two  Tables,  given  on  Mount  Sinai. 
Thirdly  :   Our  inability  to  fulfil  these  requirements, 
"  Canst  tliou  keep  all  these  things  perfectly  ?  " 
"  In  no  wise  ;  for  I  am  prone  by  nature  to  hate  God 
and  my  neighbor."    This  melancholy  truth  the  Christian 
learns  from  the  Word  of  God  and  from  experience. 

1,  The  terms,  ability,  power,  and  the  like,  originally 
referring  to  physical  matters,  become  very  vague  when 
applied  to  our  moral  being,  the  exercise  of  our  will, 
judgment,  and  affections ;  nor,  though  some  have  in- 
geniously but  unsatisfactorily  dogmatized  on  the  ques- 
tion, could  we  readily  show  where  man's  moral  impo- 
tence lies,  except  we  be  content  with  acknowledging, 
what  is  the  fact,  that  it  is  a  disorganizing  corruption  of 
til©  entire  soul.  But,  pitting  such  lame  metaphysics 
aside,  and  going  to  the  unerring  Word,  we  find  there  un- 
equivocally stated  the  fact  of  our  own  utter  insufficiency 
to  keep  the  law  of  God.  The  testimonies  to  it  pervade 
the  whole  Scripture,  and  the  Divine  Spirit  labors  to 
express,  fi  our  imperfect  language  and  by  such  figures 
as  we  can  understand,  our  complete  ruin  as  moral  crea- 
tures. It  is  declared  that  "  there  is  none  that  doeth 
good,  no,  not  one ; "  that ''  the  heart  of  man  is  evil,  and 
only  evil,  and  that  continually ;  "  that  "  all  are  concluded 
untler  sin,"  conceived  in  sin,  and  brought  forth  in  ini- 
quity ;  that  we  are  not  only  weak,  but,  so  far  as  godly 


virtue  is  concerned,  without  any  strength,  nay,  "  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins."  The  plan  of  salvation  proceeds 
on  this  fact.  When  we  were  impotent,  "  without 
strength,  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly."  "  If  righteous- 
ness "  could  have  "  come  by  the  law  (J,,  e.  through  our 
keeping  of  the  law),  then  is  Christ  dead  in  vain." 
That  this  is  true  only  of  some  is  disproved  by  the  offer 
of  the  Gospel  to  all  men :  "  God  so  loved  the  worlds 
that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life.  For  God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to  con- 
demn the  world,  but  that  the  world  through  him  might 
be  saved.  ...  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath 
everlasting  life ;  but  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son 
shall  not  see  life ;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on 
him." 

So  the  sanctifying  or  illuminating  and  strengthening 
grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  radical  in  every  one  that  is 
saved.  He  renews  us  by  a  fresh  begetting,  a  re-crea- 
tion, a  resurrection  from  the  dead  ;  and  no  man,  "  ex- 
cept he  be  born  again  "  "  of  the  Spirit,"  "  can  enter 
the  kingdom  of  God."  So  we  see  that  "  there  is  no 
difference,  for  all  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the 
glory  of  God."  "  The  carnal  mind.(z.  e,  the  mind  of 
man  in  his  natural  state)  is  enmity  against  God ;  "  and 
since,  as  we  have  seen,  love  to  our  neighbor  proceeds 
from  our  love  to  God,  man  is  by  nature  at  enmity  w^ith 
his  neighbor. 

This  enmity  against  God  and  our  neighbor  may  not 
at  once  be  utter  and  extreme,  for  living,  as  we  do, 
under  a  remedial  system,  the  restraining  grace  of  God 
is  round  even  the  unregenerate ;  but  we  are  prone  to 
it,  and  were  the  grace  of  God  entirely  taken  from  us. 


If 


46  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.        [Lect.  H. 

as  it  will  be  from  the  lost  in  hell,  there  is  no  depth  of 
depravity  to  which  we  should  not  sink.     Our  enmity 
against  God  may  not  appear  against  his  goodness,  or 
his  mercy,  or  his  love ;  but  it  is  naturally  strong  agamst 
what  is  equallvhis  character  —  his  holiness  and  justice; 
for  whenever  his  law  or  his  providence  clashes  with  our 
inclination,  it  is  rampant,  bitter,  and  obstinate.     So  are 
we  enemies  of  our  neighbor,  when  he  crosses  our  sup- 
posed interest.    Whence  also  could  come  such  mahcious 
crimes,  such  bloody  wars,  such  envious  calumnies,  as 
those  wliich  fill  the  earth  with  clamor  and  rapine  and 
crueltjf      Thus,   the  Apostle   describes   the   heathen 
who    had    departed    from    God    as    filled   with   evil, 
stained   by  the   most  hideous   pollutions,   "covenant- 
breakers,  without  natural  affection,  implacable,  unmer- 
ciftil.*'     It  is  the  proneness,  not  of  the  individual,  here 
and  there,  but  of  human  nature,  of  the  race ;  for  every- 
where we  see  symptoms  of  this  depravity  ;  everywhere 
men  make  laws  to  guard  against  it ;  every  penal  stat- 
ute, every  gibbet,  every   prison,  every  lock   on   our 
doors,  testify  to  man's  belief  that   his   fellow-man  is 
prone  to  hate  God  and  his  neighbor.     Christianity,  or 
other  restraining  influences  of  God's  government,  may 
modify,  and  to  some  extent  hold  back  the  tendency,  but 
in  what  man  has  been  and  what  man  now  is,  when 
grace  is  not  exercising  some  control,  we  see  what  he 
would  be  were  he  left  alone. 

The  Christian's  experience  confirms  the  divine  dec- 
laration. Who  that  looks  upon  these  two  precepts  of 
God's  law  can  sav  he  has  kept  them,  or  that  he  could 
keep  them  perfectly  ?  Who  of  us  can  love  God,  with 
all  his  heart,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself?  The  be- 
Kever  knows  he  cannot ;  he  knows  that  there  is  withm 


Lect.  IL]         THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY. 


47 


him  a  tendency  downward,  which  none  but  God  can 
change ;  that  there  is  a  lack  in  him,  call  it  what  you 
will,  and  place  it  where  you  will,  which  nothing  but 
God's  grace  can  supply,  but  without  which  he  is  lost, 
—  powerless  to  do  good,  and  prone  to  all  evil.  It  is 
this  that  he  expects  through  Christ ;  this  he  asks  of  God 
by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  this  he  relies  upon  alone  for  eternal 
life. 

O  blessed  Gospel,  that  thus  meets  us  in  our  last  ex- 
tremity, turning  our  despair  into  joy  !  O  blessed  Law 
of  God,  whose  very  terrors  drive  us  to  welcome  Christ ! 
O  blessed  Bible,  which  thunders  on  the  one  page  from 
Sinai  the  curse  of  eternal  death,  and  on  the  next  shows 
us  Christ  on  the  cross  dying  in  our  stead ;  then  beyond 
it,  Christ  on  his  throne  beckoning  the  penitent  to  eternal 
life  !  Glory  to  God  the  Lawgiver  !  Glory  to  God  the 
Redeemer !  Glory  to  God  the  Sanctifier !  Glory  to 
God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  our  Covenant  God, 
throughout  all  ages  !     Amen. 


LECTURE  III. 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


VOL.    I. 


THIRD  LORD'S  DAY. 


THE   FALL   OF  MAN. 


Quest.  VI.    Did  Gotl,  then,  create  man  so  wicked  and  pei'verse  f 
Ans.    By  no  means;  but  God  created  man  good,  and  after  his  own  image, 
in  righteousness  and  true  holiness,  that  he  might  rightl}'  know  God  Ms 
Creator,  heartily  love  him,  and  live  with  him  in  eternal  happiness  to 
glorify  and  praise  him. 
Quest.  Vf  I.     Whence,  then,  proceeds  this  depravity  of  human  nature  1 
Ans.  From  the  fall  and  disobedience  of  our  first  parents,  Adam  and  Eve,  in 
Paradise;  hence  our  nature  is  become  so  corrupt  that  we  are  all  con- 
ceived and  born  in  sin. 
Quest.  VIII.     Are  we,  then,  so  corrupt  that  we  are  wholly  incapable  of  doing 

any  good,  and  inclining  to  all  einlf 
Ans.  Indeed  Ave  are;  except  we  are  regenerated  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

^HE  lesson  of  to-day  sets  forth  a  doctrine  of  Chris- 
-■-  tianity  at  which,  more  than  any  other,  infidels  and 
heretics  have  aimed  their  assaults;  and  no  wonder, 
since,  if  it  be  not  true,  our  whole  creed  is  without  con- 
sistency and  must  fall  to  the  ground ;  but  the  purpose 
of  this  discourse  is  not  to  establish  or  defend  it  by  any 
argument  of  our  own.  The  Catechism  undertakes  no 
more  than  to  teach,  systematically  and  very  briefly,  what 
doctrines  God  himself  has  declared  throughout  the  Holy 
Scriptures;  and  the  Church,  when  commanding  her 
ministers  to  preach  upon  the  Catechism,  intends  no 
more  than  that  thev  should  teach  onlv  what  the  Cat- 
echism  teaches,  assisting  her  people  to  understand  it 
by  farther  explanations  conformable  with  the  Scriptures 
and  the  other  articles  of  evangelical  faith.  Our  duty, 
therefore,  is  to  bring  before  you  what  God  asserts  to  be 
true ;  if  after  that  there  be  any  questioning  as  to  how 


52 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


[Lect.  in. 


these  things  can  be,  the  dispute  is  not  with  us  but  God, 
and  we  leave  the  objector  in  his  hands  wlio  needs  no 
help  from  our  logic. 

You  will  also  remember  that  on  the  point  before  us, 
has  turned  a  long,  extensive  controversy,  filling  many 
volumes  by  the  most  acute  pens  ;  and  that  it  is  not  pos- 
sible in  a  single  hour  even  to  touch  many  things,  which 
the  most  candid  hearer  might  M^ish  made  clear. 

The  section  for  the  Second  Lord's  Day  having  taught, 
that  we  are  "P^^^"^  %  nature  to  hate  God  and  our 
neighbor,'*  inquiry  is  supposed  to  arise  respecting  the 
origin  of  such  an  evil  tendency : 

6th.  "DicZ  God  create  man  so  wicked  and  per- 
verse?^' which  being  denied,  and  contrary  facts  stat- 
ed, it  is  asked: 

7th.  "  Whence,  then,  proceeds  this  depravity  of  human 
nature  ?  " 

And  the  answer  gives  the  true  history  of  our  most 
mournful  ruin ;  whereupon  another  question  is  put  as 
to  the  degree  of  our  moral  decay : 

Bill.  ''''Are  we,  then,  so  corrupt  that  we  are  wholly  in- 
capable  of  doing  any  good,  and  inclined  to  all  wicked- 
ness f  " 

The  reply  confirms  the  doctrine  already  asserted, 
pronouncing  dur  condition,  if  left  to  ourselves,  utter- 
ly desperate  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  points  out  a  sure 
way  of  escape  through  the  gracious  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  the  Author  of  all  life. 

Thus  we  have  our  subject  and  the  order  of  handling  it : 

The  subject : 

The  origin  of  human  depravity. 

The  order : 

First:  It  is  not  from  our  Creator, 


If 


Lbct.  IIL] 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


53 


Secondly:  It  is  from  the  sin  of  our  first  parents. 

We  need  not  treat  of  the  answer  to  the  last  question 
separately,  as  the  first  part  is  properly  included  by  our 
second  head,  and  the  latter  will  be  fully  discussed  un- 
der a  subsequent  division  of  the  Catechism. 

Before,  however,  we  enter  upon  the  explanation  sup- 
plied us  by  our  Church,  it  should  be  remarked,  that  the 
origin  of  evil  is  a  difficulty  not  peculiar  to  the  Christian 
creed.  The  actual  existence  of  evil,  physical  and  mor- 
al, is  a  fact  not  to  be  denied.  Death,  with  all  its  pain- 
ful precedents,  is  upon  all  men.  Crime  or  wrong-doing, 
by  which  we  mean  violation  of  laws  regulating  our  own 
and  the  common  happiness,  is  seen  everywhere,  among 
all  nations,  in  all  circumstances.  There  are  degrees  of 
wrong-doing,  and  there  may  be  exceptions  as  to  partic- 
ular kinds  of  wrong-doing,  still  a  tendency  to  do  wrong 
is  as  much,  or  as  really,  a  characteristic  of  human  na- 
ture as  liability  to  death.  Every  civilized  community, 
and,  though  less  formally,  savage  tribe  ordain  statutes 
for  the  punishment  of  murder,  theft,  adultery,  not  be- 
cause this  or  the  other  individual  is  particularly  suspect- 
ed of  a  purpose  to  commit  any  of  those  crimes  (which, 
at  the  moment,  may  or  may  not  be  the  case),  but  be- 
cause the  nature  common  to  all  men  makes  the  com- 
mission of  such  grievous  wrong  so  probable  that  severe 
restrictions,  with  penalties,  are  necessary  to  prevent 
what  all  agree  would  be  evil ;  nor  are  any  of  us  affront- 
ed at  being  put  under  a  government  of  the  kind.  Nay, 
from  our  own  consciousness  of  human  weakness,  we 
consent  to  laws  for  the  control  of  all.  Thus,  those  who 
reject  the  Bible  are  as  much  bound  as  we  are  to  ac- 
count for  this  fact  of  human  corruption,  which,  because 
it  is  universal,  cannot  have  been  fortuitous,  but  must 


■flMw  ' 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


[Lect.  III. 


come  from  a  source  involving  all  men.  Philosophers 
of  all  age?,  i)eople,  and  sects,  have  sorely  felt  this 
difficulty  at  the  very  outset  of  their  ethical  observa- 
lillis ;  and  a  Christian  does  not  create,  but  obeys  the 
liecessity,  when  he  seeks  in  the  Word  of  God  for  an 
answer  to  the  sad  question,  —  whence  originated  the 
depraved  tendency  of  our  world-wide  race  ?  Our  pres- 
ent duty,  therefore,  is  to  consider  that  answer  as  it  is 
brought  before  us  by  the  Catechism. 

First  :    Human  depravity  is  not  from  God, 

As  the  depravity  is  in  human  nature,  and  human 

nature  sprang  from  the  creating  will  of  God,  our  first 

thouo^ht  is :  Can  it  be  that  man  came  into  being  with 

such  an  evil  disposition  ?  or,  as  the  Catechism  has  it : 

"  Did   Gody   then,   create  man,   no  wicked  and  per- 

But  at  once  we  shrink  from  such  an  impious  sugges- 
tion with  horror,  which  revulsion  is  strengthened  by 
the  scriptural  account : 

"  By  no  means ;  but  God  created  man  good  and  after 
his  own  image  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness,  that 
he  might  rightly  know  God  his  Creator,  heartily  love 
him,  and  live  with  him  in  eternal  happiness  to  glorify 
and  praise  him." 

1.  A  positive  denial :  "  By  no  means.^' 

There  can  be  no  thought  so  shocking  as  that  God  is 
in  anv  wav  the  author  of  evil,  which  he  would  be  if  he 
had  created  man  wicked  and  perverse ;  since,  then,  the 
inference  would  be  irresistible  that  the  will  of  God  is 
eiEJl,  and  tlie  sovereign  rule  of  the  universe  held  by  the 
bands  of  One  who  can  be  neither  wise,  nor  just,  nor  good. 
Where,  then,  could  his  moral  creatures  look  for  a  stand- 
ard of  right,  for  the  reward  of  virtue  or  the  punish- 


Lect.  IIL] 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


55 


ment  of  vice  ?  Better  the  blankest  atheism  than  such 
a  belief,  —  better  the  wildest  chance  than  such  a  gov- 
ernment, —  by  whose  capricious  cruelty  all  the  elements 
of  happiness  and  misery  are  throw^n  into  dark,  waning, 
destructive  confusion.  No!  It  cannot  be!  "By  no 
means  "  can  it  be !  Let  man's  wickedness  and  conse- 
quent misery  come  whence  they  may,  they  cannot  have 
come  from  tlie  creating  will  of  God.  "  Yea,  let  God 
be  true,  and  every  man  a  liar."  Some  may  ask  here, 
if  it  be  not  asserted  in  Scripture  that  God  made  men 
wicked,  where  the  Wisdom  says  (Prov.  xvi.  4),  "  The 
Lord  hath  made  all  things  for  himself;  yea,  even  the 
wicked  for  the  day  of  evil."  But  that  text  bears  no 
such  interpretation.  God,  who  made  all  things  for 
himself,  certainly  made  wicked  men,  yet  that  is  very 
different  from  making  men  wicked.  He  made  them, 
and  they  became  wricked ;  and  what  the  Wisdom  means, 
is  that  the  wickedness  of  men  does  not  put  them  beyond 
the  control  of  God,  neither  will  it  defraud  him  of  his 
glory ;  for  they  are  still  his  creatures,  therefore  in  his 
power ;  and  on  the  great  day  of  retribution  (a  most 
evil  day  to  them),  he  will  abundantly  display  the  glory 
of  his  justice  by  their  signal  punishment.  So  says  the 
Psalmist  (Ixxvi.  10),  "Surely  the  wrath  of  man  shall 
praise  thee ;  the  remainder  of  w^rath  shalt  thou  restrain ;" 
i.  e,  God  in  the  wisdom  of  his  providence  will  overrule 
the  malignant  passions  of  men  to  the  praise  of  his  gov- 
ernment, and  suffer  them  to  go  no  farther.  The  same 
principle  is  woven  through  our  whole  subject. 

IL  The  contrary  account  in  Scripture. 

(1)  "  God  created  man  good  ;  (2)  and  after  his 
own  image  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness ;  (3)  that 
he  might  rightly  know  God  his  Creator,  heartily  love 


66 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


[Lect.  IlL 


him,  and  live  with  liim  in  eternal  happiness,  to  glorify 

and  praise  him.* 

Here  we  have  1.  The  creation  of  man  good.  2.  The 
form  of  his  goodness ;  after  the  image  of  God  in  right- 
eousness and  true  holiness.  3.  The  design  of  his  crea- 
tion after  the  divine  image ;  that  he  might  be  capable 
of  glorifying  God  by  an  eternal,  spiritual,  and  happy 
obedience. 

The  loo-ical  order  of  the  thou<Thts  is  the  reverse  of. 

the  words. 

1.  The  design  of  God  in  creating  man  w^as,  that  he 
might  be  capable  of  glorifying  his  Creator  by  an  eter- 
nal, spiritual,  and  happy  obedience. 

The  English  translation  of  our  Catechism  is  not  well 
done,  and  there  is  an  obscurity  in  the  last  phrase  of  the 
answer  now  before  us,  which  is  made  worse  by  defec- 
ti«5  punctuation.  As  it  now  reads,  it  would  seem  that 
tlie  words,  "  to  glorify  and  praise  him,"  had  reference 
only  to  man's  **  living  with  God  in  eternal  happiness," 
while,  really,  they  relate  to  all  that  has  gone  before. 
A  comma  put  after  happiness,  will  greatly  help  to  clear 
the  sense;  but  there  should  have  been  inserted  some 
such  phrase  as,—  "And  this  as  the  method"  "  to  glorify 
and  praise,"  or  "for  the  purpose  of  glorifying  and  prais- 
ing him." 

By  the  glory  of  God  is  to  be  understood  the  mani- 
festation of  his  infinite  attributes ;  and  he  is  glorified 
by  his  works,  when  they  show  proofs  of  his  attributes 
exerted  upon  them.  The  radiant  sun,  the  fruitful 
earth,  the  cunning  anatomy  of  plants  and  animals,  all 
that  is  discoverable  in  unconscious  nature,  gl:-ify  God. 

Yet  it  is  necessary  to  such  glorification  of  God  that 
tliere  should  be  creatures  capable  of  perceiving  and 


Lect.  IIL] 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


57 


recognizino-  the  glory  so  manifested.  Being  created  with 
these  spiritual  faculties,  they  exhibit  in  their  own  nature 
proofs  of  the  divine  glory  as  much  more  wonderful  than 
those  of  unconscious  nature,  as  conscious  spirit  is  more 
wonderful  than  mere  matter.  But  they  render  a  higher 
tribute  of  glorification,  when  they  give  their  adoring 
praise  before  kindred  intelligences  to  the  Author  of  all. 
The  glory  of  God  in  the  revelation  of  truth  to  his 
creatures,  whom  he  has  gifted  with  capacity  to  receive, 
is  unspeakably  more  noble  than  his  glory  in  his  works ; 
and  those  creatures  return  him  a  correspondent  glory 
when  they  acknowledge  his  truth  with  homage  for  his 
divine  wisdom  ;  but  the  highest  degree  of  glorification 
which  intelligent  creatures  can  yield,  or  God  can  re- 
ceive, is  their  perfect  happiness  derived  from  conform- 
ity to  his  will,  for  then  are  the  power,  wisdom,  good- 
ness, and  holiness  of  God  most  fully  manifested. 

It  was  to  give  man  a  fitness  for  thus  glorifying  his 
Creator  that  God  made  him,  as  Scripture  everywhere 
testifies.  God  had  already,  according  to  many  scrip- 
tural intimations,  created  various  orders  of  intelligences  ; 
but,  so  far  as  we  know,  they  are  all  pure  spirits,  liv- 
ing, acting,  serving,  and  adoring,  only  in  spheres  of 
thought.  Man  alone  was  a  union  of  the  material  and 
spiritual.  Man  alone  was  intrusted  with  lordship  ovA 
material  things,  was  capable  of  deriving  happiness  from 
God  in  a  legitimate  use  of  them,  and  charged  with  the 
office  of  glorifying  God  by  such  a  happy  obedience,  on 
a  theatre  where  mind  and  matter  are  united  and  coop- 
erative. In  him  the  things  of  heaven  and  earth  are 
brought  together.  In  him,  as  the  connecting  link,  the 
two  grand  divisions  of  the  Almighty's  w^orks  are  met. 
It  is  true  that  this  is  seen  very  dimly  in  the  first  Adam ; 


58 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


[lect.  m. 


Lect.  III.] 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


yet  when  we  know  of  the  woman  conceiving  from  the 
Holy  Ghost  the  Second  Adam,  and  see  Jesus,  our 
Brother,  at  tk©  right  hand  of  God,  the  demonstration 

is  complete. 

The  design  of  God  was  to  give  man  a  fitness  for  thus 
glorifying  him ;  but  the  divine  purpose  was  not  abso- 
lute that  man  should  so  glorify  liim,  as  the  immediate 
sequel  shows,  though  the  ultimate  issues  of  redemption 
will  triumph  gloriously  over  the  ruins  of  the  ftill.  The 
design  was  carried  out.  Man  did  receive  from  his 
Creator  entire  fitness  to  glorify  and  enjoy  him  ;  though, 
as  we  shall  see,  there  was  necessarily  in  that  very  fitness 
an  element  which  made  his  defection  possible.  "  God 
made  man  uprigbt ;   but  they  have  sought  out  many 

inventions." 

2.  The  form  of  man's  moral  creation  was  "  after  the 
image   of  God  in    righteousness   and    true   holiness." 
"And  God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our 
likeness.  ...  So  God  created  man  in  liis  own  image ; 
in  the  image  of  God  created  he  him  ;  male  and  female 
created  he^'tliem."     What  is  meant  by  the  image  of 
God  in  which  man  was  created?     The  parallel  and 
nearly  synonymous  term  "  likeness,"  used  by  God  him- 
self, gives  us  the  key  to  the  explanation. 
*    Man  being  designed  to  reflect,  spiritually,  the  spirit- 
ual glory  of  God,  by  his  enjoyment  of  God  through  an 
intelligent  conformity  to  the  divine  will,  it^was  neces- 
sary that  lie  should  have  a  correspondent  capacity,  and 
be,  so  far  as  a  finite  creature  may,  a  counterpart  of  his 
infinite  Creator.     This  could  not  be  properly  true  of 
his  body,  for  organized  matter  cannot   resemble  the 
spiritual  Oxe,  "  whom  no  one  hath  seen  or  can  see ;  " 
and  the  language  of  the  text  cited  guards  us  against 


69 


i 


such^  a  mistake :  "  In  the  image  of  God  created  he 
him,"  z.  e.  man  irrespective  of  bodily  distinctions,  as 
*'in  Christ  there  is  neither  male  nor  female;"  but 
when  those  corporeal  differences  are  spoken  of,  it  is 
simply  said,  "  Male  and  female  created  he  them  ; " 
no  mention  being  made  of  the  divine  image.  It 
must,  therefore,  relate  to  the  soul,  and  in  fact  proves 
that  man  has,  besides  his  body,  a  spirit,  because  he  is 
like  God  who  is  a  spirit,  and  he  "  must  worship  "  the 
spiritual  God  "  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

Man  is  a  creature  :  therefore,  all  that  he  is,  and  has, 
must  be  derived,  and,  for  the  same  reason,  finite  ;  God, 
the  origin  and  source  of  all,  must,  on  the  other  hand.' 
be  mfinite.  Still  there  will  be  a  correspondence  be- 
tween the  finite  receiver  and  the  infinite  imparter. 
The  happiness  of  the  spiritual  creature  must  come 
from  the  same  causes  as  the  spiritual  creature ;  and 
hence  there  must  be  a  spiritual  resemblance. 

Thus  this  image,  likeness,  or  counterpart  of  God  in 
man  may  be  seen  threefold. 

1.  In  understanding :  all  knowledge  is  original  with 
God,  but  he  imparts  truth  to  man,  and  man  must 
have  understanding  as  the  capacity  to  receive  it. 
Hence  the  Catechism  gives  as  one  reason  why  man 
was  made  in  the  image  of  God,  -  "  that  he  might 
rightly  know  God  his  Creator." 

2.  In  affection :  by  which  we  mean  what  is  amono- 
us  commonly  understood  by  heart ;  that  is,  a  capacity 
of  being  so  affected  by  the  character  and  disposition  of 
those  to  whom  we  have  relations  that  we  return  them 
love,  or  the  reverse.  But  God  manifests  his  love  tow- 
ards us,  and  requires  our  love  in  return.  Hence, 
man  must  have  affections  correspondent  to  the  relations 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


[Lect.  Ill 


LscT.  IIL] 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


m 


If 

'  ■ 


1 


which  he  has  with  God,  and  in  the  economy  of  God 
with  his  fellow-creatures.  So  the  Catechism  gives  as 
another  reason  why  man  was  made  in  the  image  of 
God,  "  that  he  might  •  .  .  love  his  Creator ;  "  and  the 
Apostle  John :  "  He  that  dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in 
God,  and  God  in  him." 

E.  In  will :  by  which  we  mean  a  power  of  choice,  or 
rf  determining  our  actions,  within  our  sphere.      The 
will  of  God  is  supreme  over  all  things,  for  it  is  the  only 
source  whence  they  exist.     He  rules  over  unintelligent 
things  by  mere  force,  and   they,  being   unconscious, 
cannot  resist  or  obey.     But,  having  given  man  under- 
standing and  affections,  he  presented  to  his  understand- 
ing, —  and  through  his  understanding  to  his  affections, 
•^arguments  or  motives  for  the  determination  of  his 
choice,  that  man  might  act  freely  according  to  his  own 
will ;  and  an  intelligent,  hearty  choice  of  that  which 
QgA  approves  is  the  service  which  the  Creator  required 
at  man's  hands.     Here,  then,  you  see  the  triple  like- 
ness of  the  creature,  man,  to  the  Creator,  God.     God 
understands,  man  understands  ;  God  loves,  man  loves ; 
God  chooses,  man  chooses. 

But  tiere  must  have  been  something  more  to  com- 
plete the  correspondence  of  the  creature  to  his  Creator ; 
and  what  this  was  we  learn  from  the  description  which 
the  Apostle  gives  of  regenerated  man,  or  sinful  man  in 
whom  the  original  likeness  is  reimplanted  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  We  find  it  in  two  nearly  parallel  texts :  one, 
Ephes.  iv.  23,  24 :  "  And  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of 
your  mind  ;  and  that  ye  put  on  the  new  man,  which 
after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holi- 
ness ; "  the  other  in  Coloss.  iii.  9,  10  :  "  Ye  have  put 
off  the  old  man  with  his  deeds  ;  and  have  put  on  the 


1 


new  man,  which  is   renewed  in  knowledge  afler  the 
image  of  him  that  created  him."     Here  we  see  that 
the  image  of  God  consists  in  knowledge,  righteousness, 
and  true  holiness.    In  knowledge,  that  is,  a  right  use  of 
the  understanding ;  in  righteousness,  that  is,  a  proper 
discharge  of  relative  duties,  to  which  love,  as  the  two 
great  commandments  teach,  is  necessary,  for  "  love  is 
the  fulfilling  of  the  law  "  ;  and  holiness,  which  is  con- 
formity of  will  to  the  will  of  God,  or  choosing  as  God 
chooses.    God,  being  unchangeably,  because  essentially, 
perfect,  never  makes  an  error  in  understanding ;  never 
fails  in  righteousnesss  toward  his  creatures;    never  is 
inconsistent  with  himself,  which  is  his  holiness.     Man, 
therefore,  when  he  had  the  divine  image,  was  sound  in 
understanding,  disposed  to  a  loving  discharge  of  all  his 
relative  duties,  and  conformed  willingly  to  the  will  of 
God.    But,  being  a  creature,  he  was  unlike  God,  neither 
infallible  nor  unchangeable  ;  and,  having  the  power  of 
choice,  he  might  choose  evil  or  good.     This  was  neces- 
sary to  his  original  constitution  as  a  moral  creature  ;  for 
else  his  conduct,  however  in  accordance  with  the  divine 
rule,  would  not  have  been  the  result  of  his  knowledge, 
his  love,  or  his  will.     You  could  not  predicate  of  him 
either  right  or  wrong  any  more  than  you  could  of  a 
brute,  a  plant,  or  a  stone.     Still,  though  he  had  this 
faculty  of  choice,  he  was  under  no  bias  to  wrong,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  received  from  his   Creator  with  his 
being  a  disposition  to  do  well.     Hence,  the  Catechism 
gives  a  third  reason  why  man  was  made  in  the  image 
of  God,  "  that  he  might  live  with  God  in  eternal  happi- 
ness," which  he  could  not  do  unless  he  chose  as  God 
chooses,  partaking  of  the  divine  blessedness  as  he  agreed 
with  the  divine  character,  which  is  the  reason  of  the 


I 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


[Lect.  IIL 


Lect.  IIL] 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


63 


divine  Wessedness.  The  blessedness  so  acquired  would 
have  been  for  ever,  because  death  came  in  only  as 
•«the  wases  of  sin;"  and  the  soul  of  man  being  im- 
mortal  would  have  lived  perpetually  with  God.  Nay, 
bis  body  also  would  have  been  incorruptible,  and  the 
whole  man  happy  through  conformity  to  the  divine 
will.  But  of  this  we  need  not  now  speak  further,  as  it 
will  come  under  consideration  in  another  place. 

Thus,  God  created  man  good,  with  no  evil  in  him, 
nf  di#ai:derlinding  to  evil,  but  fitted  for  the  duties 
and  circumstances  which  should  be  assigned  him ;  so 
that  in  no  sense  has  the  evil,  moral  and  physical,  which 
subsequently  came  upon  man  and  is  now  upon  all  his 
descendants,  been  the  fault  of  his  Creator.    ' 

Secondly  :  Human  depravity  is  from  man  liimself. 

Til©  Tth  Question  asks :  "  Whence,  then,  pvceeds 
this  depravity  of  human  nature  T'  If  man  was  not 
created  wicked  and  perverse,  how  became  he  so  ? 

The  Catechism  answers : 

"  From  the  fall  and  disobedience  of  our  first  parents, 
Adam  and  Eve,  in  Paradise ;  hence  our  nature  is  become 
so  corrupt  that  we  are  conceived  and  born  in  sin." 

This  asserts :  the  cause  of  the  corruption  to  be  the 
aiil  of  our  first  parents  ;  and :  the  manner  of  its  trans- 
mission t*  fct  «t  ISonception  and  birth  in  sin ;  which 
together  give  us  the  doctrine  held  by  the  Reformed 
Churches,  according  to  the  Word  of  God,  that  all  men 
are  involved  in  the  fatal  consequences  of  Adam's  sin. 

Or,  as  the  clear  language  of  the  Westminster  divines 
expresses  it :  "  They  sinned  with  him  and  fell  with  him 
in  his  first  transgression." 

The  word /a//,  though  nowhere  it  has  such  reference 
in  Scripture,  is  commonly  used  by  believers  of  Christian 


'J 


doctrine  to  signify  man's  loss  of  the  high  place  which,  he 
had  when  originally  created.     This  was  brought  about 
by  the  disobedience  of  our  first  parents,   Adam  and 
Eve,  in  Paradise.     The  particular  act  of  disobedience 
on  which  such  fatal  consequences  ensued,  must,  there- 
fore, have  been  the  first  of  which  man  was  guilty,  be- 
cause before  that  he  was  blameless,  and  immediately 
after  it,  he  was  cast  out  of  Paradise.     It  is,  then,  for 
us  to  inquire  how  our  race  were  so  deplorably  con- 
cerned in  that  one  sin  of  our  first  parents?     This  we 
may  learn  from  a  collation  of  Scripture :  Gen.  ii.  15 : 
"And  the  Lord  God  took  the  man,  and  put  him  into 
the  garden  of  Eden  to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it.     And  the 
Lord  God  commanded   the   man,  saying:    Of  every 
tree  of  the  garden  thou  mayest  freely  eat ; "  (mark, 
the  tree  of  life  was  among  thosonot  forbidden  to  him ;) 
"  but  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  thou 
shalt  not  eat  of  it ;  for  in  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof 
thou   shalt   surely  die."      Mark  here,  that   from   the 
nature  of  this  command  with  the  threatening,  there  is 
implied  a  covenant  by  which  God  promises  life  on  con- 
dition of  his  obedience,  since  death  could  come  only 
through  his  disobedience.     Chap.  iii.  1  .  .  .  "  Now  the 
serpent  was  more  subtile  than  any  beast  of  the  field 
which  the  Lord  God  had  made."      (Other  Scriptures 
warrant  us  in  believing  that  the  devil  was  here  under 
the  form  of  the  subtle  reptile :  "  That  old  serpent  called 
the  devil,"  Rev.  xii.  9.)  "  And  he  said  unto  the  woman : 
Yea,  hath  God  said.  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  every  tree  of  the 
garden  ?     And  the  woman  said  unto  the  serpent :  We 
may  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  trees  of  the  garden  ;  but  of  the 
tree  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  God  hath  said. 
Ye  shall  not  eat  of  it,  neither  shall  ye  touch  it,  lest  ye 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


[Lect.  III. 


Lect.  IIL] 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


65 


die.*'     (The  covenant  had  been  made  with  the  man 
before  the  woman  was  formed ;  but  she  rightly  judged 
herself  involved  by  it,  as  making  with  man  the  human 
nature.)     "  And  the  serpent  said  unto  the  woman,  Ye 
shall  not  surely  die;  for  God  doth  know  that  in  the 
day  ye  eat  thereof,  then  your  eyes  shall  be  opened, 
and  ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good  and  evil.     And 
when  the  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good  for  food, 
and  that  it  was  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be 
lesired  to  make  one  wise,  she  took  of  the  fruit  thereof, 
and  did  eat,  and  gave  also  unto  her  husband,  and  he 
did  eat.      And  the  eyes  of  them  both  were  opened, 
»nd  they  knew  that  they  were  naked  ;  and  they  sewed 
fi<r-leaves  tof^ether  and  made  themselves  aprons.     And 
thev  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord  God  walking  m  the 
garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day  ;  and  Adam  and  his  wife 
hid  themselves  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  God 
amongst  the  trees  of  the  garden.     And  the  Lord  God 
called  unto  Adam,  and  said  unto  him,  Adam,  Where 
art  thou  ?     And  he  said,  I  heard  thy  voice  in  the  gar- 
den, and  I  was  afraid  because  I  was  naked,  and  I  hid 
myself.     And  He  said.  Who  told  thee  that  thou  wast 
naked  ?     Hast  thou  eaten  of  the  tree,  whereof  I  com- 
manded thee  that  thou  shouldest  not  eat?     And  the 
man  said :  The  w^oman  whom  thou  gavest  to  be  with 
me,  s!ie  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and  I  did  eat.     And  the 
Lord  God  said  unto  the  woman.  What  is  this  that 
thou  hast  done  ?     And  the  woman  said.  The  serpent 
beguiled  me  and  I  did  eat.     And  the  Lord  God  said 
unto  the  serpent.  Because  thou  hast  done  this,  thou  art 
cursed  above  all  cattle,  and  above  every  beast  of  the 
field  ;  upon  thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou 
eat  all  the  days  of  thy  life :   and  I  will  put  enmity 


ill 
'■III 


between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed 
and  her  seed  ;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt 
bruise  his  heel.  Unto  the  woman  he  said,  I  will  great- 
ly multiply  thy  sorrow  and  thy  conception ;  in  sorrow 
thou  shalt  bring  forth  children  ;  and  thy  desire  shall 
be  to  thy  husband,  and  he  shall  rule  over  thee.  And 
unto  Adam  he  said.  Because  thou  hast  hearkened  unto 
the  voice  of  thy  wife,  and  hast  eaten  of  the  tree,  of 
which  I  commanded  thee,  saying.  Thou  shalt  not  eat 
of  it.  Cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake ;  in  sorrow 
shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life ;  thorns  and 
thistles  shall  it  bring  forth  to  thee,  and  thou  shalt  eat 
the  herb  of  the  field ;  in  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt 
thou  eat  bread,  till  thou  return  unto  the  ground ;  for 
out  of  it  wast  thou  taken  ;  for  dust  thou  art,  and  unto 

dust  shalt  thou  return And   the  Lord  God 

said.  Behold,  the  man  is  become  as  one  of  us  to  know 
good  and  evil ;  and  now  lest'he  put  forth  his  hand,  and 
take  also  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  eat  and  live  for  ever ; 
therefore  the  Lord  God  sent  him  forth  from  the  gar- 
den of  Eden,  to  till  the  ground  from  whence  he  was 
taken.  So  he  drove  out  the  man.  And  he  placed  at 
the  east  of  the  garden  of  Eden  cherubims  and  a  flam- 
ing sword,  which  turned  every  way,  to  keep  the  way 
of  the  tree  of  life."  Gen.  v.  3.  "  And  Adam  .... 
begat  a  son  in  his  own  likeness,  after  his  image." 

Now  compare  with  this  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostle, 
when  opening  the  way  of  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ  ; 
Rom.  V.  12:  "Wherefore  as  by  one  man  sin  entered 
mto  the  world  and  death  by  sin ;  and  so  death  passed 
upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned.  .  v.  18.  Therefore 
as  by  the  offence  of  one  judgment  came  upon  all  men 
to  condemnation  ;  even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one, 


VOL.   I. 


66 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


[Lect.  III. 


the  free  gift   came   upon   all   men   unto  justification 

of  life."     So,  also,  1  Cor.  xv.  21 "  For  since  by 

man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead.  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive."  45.  "  The  first  Adam  was 
made  a  living  soul ;  the  last  Adam  was  made  a  quick- 
ening spirit." 

There  are  many  things  in  the  original  story  and  the 
apostolical  comments,  upon  which  it  might  not  be  un- 
profitable to  remark,  if  we  had  time ;   but  since  we 
have  not,  we  shall  be  confined  to  the  inferences  im- 
mediately touching  our  subject.     Let  us,  however,  be 
on  our  guard  against  the  sceptical  notion  that  the  Mo- 
saic account  is  an  allegory  ;  for  it  is  in  no  way  so  dis- 
tinguished from  what  follows  or  from  what  goes  before. 
If  part  be  allegory,  the  whole  is  allegory  ;  the  account 
of  creation  is  allegory,  man  is  but  an  allegorical  being, 
and  all  human  beings,  you  and  I  and  the  rest  of  our 
race,  are  mere  figments  of  a  poetical  description.     The 
facts  of  the  cui^e  are  present  with  us  now,  —  the  creep- 
ing serpent,  the  ungenerous  earth  with  its  thorns  and 
thTstles,  the  pains  of  childbirth,  the  necessity  of  toil, 
the  death  which  returns  us  all  to  the  dust.     The  whole 
reasoning  of  the  apostles  respecting  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion assumes  the  facts  given  by  Moses  to  be  actual  and 
not  figurative.     Nay,  if  the  first  Adam  fell  not,  there 
is  no  redemption  by  the  second,  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 
The  simple  means  by  which  the  obedience  of  our  first 
parents  was  tried,  so  far  from  being  puerile,  as  some 
profanely  think,  were  in  perfect  accordance  with  the 
general  economy  of  God,  and  show  more  plainly  than 
more  complex  or  imposing  arrangements  could  have 
done  the  importance  of  the  principle  that  a  holy  safe- 


Lect.  IIL] 


THE  FALL  OF  MAK. 


67 


ty  lies  in  obedience  to  God.     Innocent  man  was  yet 
dependent  on  his  Maker  for  daily  food,  and  God  put 
the  test  there  that  it  might  be  most  obvious. 
From  the  whole,  then,  we  learn,  — 
a.  That  Adam  forfeited  by  sin  the  favor  of  God,  lost 
the  upright  likeness,  which  he  originally  had,  to  his  Cre- 
ator, and  came  under  condemnation  to  death,  being  driv- 
en out  of  the  garden  where  God  held  communion  with 
him,  and  shut  out  from  all  access  to  the  tree  of  life, 
the  fruit  of  which  was  the  means  of  immortality.    How 
a  pure  being  could  fall  into  sin,  we  have  not  philosophy 
enough  to  explain,  nor  has  the  Holy  Ghost  answered 
such  curiosity.     He  had  the  faculty  of  choice,  from  the 
exercise  of  which  God  could  not  directly  restrain  him 
without  destroying  the   essence   of  his   moral  being. 
But  that  he  did  sin,  we  know  from  the  testimony  of 
God ;  and  that  the  punishment  of  sin  came  upon  him, 
we  know  by  experience. 

h.  When  he  fell,  he  fell  not  alone,  but  all  his  descend- 
ants fell  with  him,  as  the  Apostle  expressly  asserts:  "  In 
Adam  all  died."     "  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 
worid,  and  death  by  sin."     When  the  covenant  was 
made  with  Adam,  it  was  made  with  human  nature,  for 
he  was  then  the  whole  of  human  nature,  and,  by  his 
progenitive  character,  the  head  and  representative  of  all 
the  human  nature  that  should  proceed  from  him.     Had 
he  remained  sinless,  no  doubt  his  posterity  would  have 
been  sinless  ;  but  he  fell,  and  his  posterity  fell  with  him. 
Had  he  retained  the  holiness  which  constituted  the  im- 
age of  God,  he  Avould  have  begotten  his  children  in  the 
image  of  God  ;  but  having  lost  that  image,  his  children 
were  begotten  and  conceived  in  his  own  image.     The 
natural  faculties  of  underetanding,  aflPection,  and  choice, 


i 


ii 


\! 


ii 

I! 


68 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


[Lect.  in. 


bis  nature  retained,  Tmf  greatly  shattered  and  under  a 
fatal  bias  to  sin ;  for,  though  one  may  be  free  to  tall 
from  a  precipitous  height,  he  is  not  free  to  regam  his 
lost  place.     His  moral  likeness  to  God  was  gone  from 
iiim  and  he  could  not  give  it  to  his  offspring.     Death 
moral,  death  natural,  death  as  the  result  of  sm,  death 
as  the  punishment  of  sin,  was  upon  him,  upon  his  very 
nature ;  and,  therefore,  upon  all  who  derived  their  na- 
tui-e  from  him.     Death  was  distinctly  threatened  as  the 
punishment  which  would  follow  Adam's  breach  of  the 
covenant,  and  that  death  involved  the  moral  being  of 
his  soul  as  well  as  the  decay  of  his  body.     "  The  wages 
of  sin  is  death  ; "  and  the  consent  of  Evangelical  Scrip- 
ture declares  that  the  death  now  visible  is  but  the  faint 
yet  sure  foreshadowing  of  death  eternal,  which,  as  the 
favor  of  God  is  life,  must  be  the  wrath  of  God  on  body 
and  soul  forever.     Death  is  upon  us  all.     We  have  the 
evidences  of  it  in  our  frames.    We  are  of  a  mortal  race. 
Our  forefathers  are  dead.     We  too  must  die,  for  we 
have  derived  death  from  them  with  our  life.     As  we 
aU  die  with  Adam,  we  must  all  be  condemned  with 
him,  and  are  corrupt  with  him.     The  evidences  of  our 
moral  depravity  are  as  plain  as  those  of  our  bodily 
death;  and  so  as  we  fell  in  Adam,  are  we  depraved 
with  him.     "  We  are,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  by  nature 
Ihe  children  of  wrath ; "  and  again :  "  The  Scripture 
hath  concluded  all  under  sin."     God  deliver  us  from 

the  death  eternal ! 

c.  Our  corruption  is  derived  from  Adam  through  our 
conception  and  birth :  "  Behold,"  says  the  Psalmist, 
when  accounting  for  his  foul  transgressions,  "  I  was 
shapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive 
me."     In  the  same  manner  that  we  have  our  descent 


i 


i 


Lect.  III.] 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


69 


from  Adam,  we  have  our  fallen  evil  nature.  Whatever 
be  the  difficulties  which  lie  about  this  fact,  it  is  true. 
The  parental  relation  of  Adam  to  us  involves  us  with 
him.  Our  whole  nature,  in  some  proper  sense,  is  from 
him.  Our  sins  are  imitations  of  his ;  we  commit  wil- 
fully personal  sins,  but  behind  all  these  there  is  sin  in 
us  and  guilt  upon  us  ;  we  "  are  by  nature  the  children 
of  wrath,"  begotten  in  the  likeness  of  man  after  he  had 
lost  the  image  of  God.  So  certainly  as  we  are  his 
children,  are  we  sinners  prone  to  all  evil,  except  we  be 
regenerated  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Such,  my  dear  hearers,  is  our  sad  state  by  nature. 
Our  cavils  cannot  change  the  fact ;  but  the  grace  of 
God  can  change  our  condition  by  changing  our  nature. 
Let  us  cease  to  challenge  the  justice  of  God  in  con- 
demning us,  and  invoke  his  ever  ready  mercy  to  create 
in  us  clean  hearts  and  renew  right  spirits  within  us. 

Let  us  seek  the  same  blessing  for  our  fellow-sinners, 
our  brothers  in  human  fallen  nature  ;  and  strive  by  all 
the  means  which  the  Gospel  offers  to  bring  them  under 
the  headship  of  Christ,  the  second  Adam ;  that,  as  in 
the  first  they  died,  so  in  him  they  may  all  be  made 
alive  by  his  quickening  Spirit  unto  eternal  holiness. 

Especially  do  you,  who  are  parents,  look  upon  those 
who  are,  through  you,  children  of  sin  because  your 
children  ;  and  leave  no  method  untried  that  you  may 
be,  by  divine  help,  their  fathers  and  mothers  in  Christ, 
to  whom  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost  be  Glory, 
Amen. 


1! 


0'\ '  * 


K 


IIH 


LECTURE  IV. 


Il^ 


PUNISHMENT   OF   SIN. 


-  f 


it 


llj 


FOURTH    LORD'S   DAY. 


PUNISHMENT    OF    SIN. 


Quest.  IX.  Doth  not  God,  then,  do  injustice  to  man  by  requiring  from  him  in 

his  law  that  ichich  he  cannot  perform  ? 
Ans.  Not  at  all;  for  God  made  man  capable  of  performing  it;  but  man,  by 

the  instigation  of  the  devil  and  his  own  wilful  disobedience,  deprived 

himself  and  all  his  posterity  of  those  divine  gifts. 
Quest.  X.   Will  Gad  suffer  such  disobedience  and  rebellion  to  go  unpunished? 
Ans.  By  no  means ;  but  is  terribly  displeased  with  our  original  as  well  as 

actual  sins;   and  will  punish  them  in  his  just  judgment,  temporally 

and  eternally,  as  he  hath  declared :  "  Cursed  is  every  one  that  con- 

tinueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do 

them." 
Quest.  XI.  Is  not  God,  then,  also  merciful  ? 
Ans.  God  is  indeed  merciful,  but  also  just;  therefore  his  justice  requires 

that  sin,  which  is  committed  against  the  most  high  majesty  of  God, 

be  also  punished  with  extreme,  that  is,  everlasting  punishment,  both 

of  body  and  souL 


^HE  section  of  the  Catechism  for  the  Second  Lord's 
-■-  Day  taught  us  the  utter  inabihty  of  man  to  keep 
the  law  of  God  ;  that  for  the  Third,  how  our  nature, 
which  God  created  good,  became  so  corrupt ;  and  the 
lesson  of  to-day,  declares  the  certain,  most  terrible  pun- 
ishment of  sin  by  the  wrath  of  God. 

An  inquiry  is  supposed,  whether  or  not  the  obliga- 
tion of  man  to  obey  the  commands  of  God  is  removed 
by  his  inability : 

9th.  "  Doth  not  God,  then,  do  injustice  to  man  hy  re- 
quiring  from  Mm  in  his  law  that  which  he  is  unable  to 
perform  V* 

This  being  denied  for  reasons  given,  farther  inquiry 


I 


74 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


[Lkct.  IV. 


^dlCT.  IV.] 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


76 


is  made  respecting  the  consequences  of  man's  wicked- 
Hess  * 

lOth.  "  Will  God  suffer  such  disobedience  and  rebel- 
Mon  to  go  unpunished  f  " 

The  answer  to  which  is,  that  God  has  not  only  made 
known  his  holy  anger  with  us  because  of  our  innate 
depravity  and  overt  crimes,  but  has  pronounced  an 
awful  curse  upon  every  transgressor  of  his  law.  Nor 
will  the  compassion  of  God  mitigate  the  severity  of 
his  vengeance,  for  the  answer  to  question  the 

11th.  "  Is  not  God^  then,  also  merciful  ? "  reminds 
us  that  executive  justice  is  essential  to  divine  sover- 
eignty, and  that  no  one  attribute  of  God  can  oppose 
another. 

Thus  we  have  our  subject  and  its  order  :  — 

Tlie  subject : 

The  Punishment  of  Sin. 

The  order : 

First  :  The  accountability/  of  fallen  man. 

Secondly  :  7^e  sentence  passed  upon  him. 

Thirdly  :   The  certainty  of  its  execution. 

First  :   The  accountability  of  fallen  man. 

The  original  obligation  of  man  to  obey  God,  with  his 
consequent  responsibility  for  his  actions,  was  shown  on 
the  Second  Lord's  Day,  and  springs  necessarily  from 
the  relation  of  the  moral  creature  to  his  Creator.  The 
difficulty  before  us  is,  how,  since  man  has  lost  his  ability 
to  keep  the  law,  he  can  be  held  liable  to  punishment  for 
not  keeping  it ;  and  whether  it  is  or  is  not  charging  God 
with  injustice  to  assert  that  he  so  holds  him.  The 
Catechism  answers : 

"  Not  at  all,  for  God  made  man  capable  of  perform- 
ing it ;  but  man,  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  and 


his  own  wilful  disobedience,  deprived  himself  and  his 
posterity  of  those  divine  gifts.'* 

The  truth  of  the  principle  that  ability  must  precede 
obligation  is  admitted,  but  its  applicableness  to  the  case 
of  fallen  man  is  denied ;  and  the  argument  takes  the 
form  of  a  syllogism,  thus :  God  made  man  able  to  keep 
the  law  given  him  ;  But  man  by  his  own  wilful  act  de- 
prived himself  and  his  race  of  that  ability ;  Therefore, 
the  law  with  its  penalties  is  justly  binding  upon  us. 
The  first  was  shown  in  answer  to  the  fifth  question  ; 
the  second  in  answer  to  the  sixth  ;  the  third,  though 
following  irresistibly,  we  may  briefly  discuss. 

The  law  with  its  penalties  is  justly  binding  upon 
us,  notwithstanding  our  inability  to  perform  its  re- 
quisitions. 

1.  God  has  declared  it  to  be  so  in  both  his  word  and 
providence.  In  his  word,  he  makes  the  law  the  rule 
of  our  duty,  as :  in  the  promulgation  of  its  two  tables 
on  Sinai,  and  the  confirmation  of  it  by  our  Lord  in  the 
two  requirements  of  love  to  God  and  love  to  our  neigh- 
bor ;  while  he  pronounces  us  utterly  unable  to  keep  it, 
and  describes  us  as  "  without  strength,"  "  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,"  needing  a  new  life,  a  new  nature,  and 
the  imputed  righteousness  of  Christ  before  we  can  be 
saved,  because  "  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  shall 
be  justified ; "  at  the  same  time  forewarning  us  of  the 
judgment  when  he  will  render  unto  every  man  accord- 
ing to  his  deeds,  and  denouncing  the  fearful  curse,  which 
is  no  less  than  the  wrath  of  God  forever,  against  "every 
one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written 
in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them."  If  God  condemns 
us  for  not  keeping  the  law,  which  he  himself  says  we 
are  unable  to  keep,  who  will  dare  deny  his  justice  ? 


1 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


[Lect.  rif- 


Lect.  IV.] 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


tt 


I 


Shall  we  set  up  our  opinion  against  his,  who,  while  he 
pronounces  us  guilty,  "  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life  ?  "  Surely, 
one  so  merciful  cannot  be  unjust. 

His  providence  agrees  with  his  word,  for  death  is  the 
penalty  of  the  law,  and  "  death  hath  passed  upon  all 
men,"  which  is  clear  proof  "  that  all  have  sinned." 
The  full  infliction  of  the  penalty  is  reserved  for  the 
next  world,  yet  here  we  see  that  mainly  the  happiness 
or  unhappiness  of  men  springs  from  their  conformity 
to  the  law  of  God  or  their  transgression  of  it ;  so  much 
so,  that  those  governments  which  copy  most  nearly  their 
laws  from  the  divine,  offer  the  best  security  for  the  com- 
mon good  ;  and,  that  those  nations  which  violate  the 
mles  of  righteousness  and  purity  divinely  laid  down 
are  sure,  if  not  at  once,  in  succeeding  generations  to 
bring  disaster  and  ruin  on  themselves ;  showing,  beyond 
a  doubt,  that  the  law  with  its  penalties  originally  im- 
posed on  man  is  still  the  law  of  his  nature  under  which 
his  Creator  holds  him.  Nor,  as  has  been  intimated  by 
these  examples,  are  those  penalties  of  sin  always  sent 
only  upon  the  actual  transgressor :  posterity  suffers 
from  the  crimes  of  their  ancestors;  children  through 
many  generations,  often  until  families  become  extinct, 
inherit  disease  and  weaknesses  of  both  mind  and  body 
through  the  vices  of  their  forefathers  ;  while  a  very 
large  majority  of  deaths,  with  the  ordinary  accompa- 
niments of  pain  and  distress,  is  of  children  too  young 
to  have  contracted  guilt  by  their  own  voluntary  sin. 
How  can  we  account  for  these  facts  (which  no  one 
can  deny)  otherwise  than  by  the  theory  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, that  the  primeval  law  is  still  dominant  over  us ; 


that  the  corruption  of  man  is  derived  with  his  nature  ; 
and  that  all  his  race,  in  consequence  of  Adam's  sin,  are 
held  guilty  (that  is,  obnoxious  to  the  penalties  of  the 
divine  law)  before  God. 

2.  The  law  under  which  man  was  created,  with  its 
penalties,  is  unchangeable.  God  adapted  it  to  his  na- 
ture and  his  nature  to  it.  It  is  the  result,  as  has 
before  been  said,  of  his  relations,  moral  and  physical, 
to  his  Creator,  and  to  the  system  of  things  in  which 
the  Creator  has  placed  him.  Unless  all  the  laws  of 
this  world,  as  created  by  God  (which  we  must  believe 
are  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  the  universe,  because 
the  Legislator  is  one  and  the  same),  be  changed,  the 
particular  law,  under  which  man  was  at  the  first  sub- 
ject, must  remain  unaltered.  We  distinguish  some- 
times, for  the  sake  of  argument,  between  the  natural  and 
the  penal  consequences  of  sin  ;  between  the  mischief 
which  sin  brings  about  in  the  condition  of  the  sinner, 
and  the  miseries  which  the  wrath  of  God  inflicts  on 
him  because  he  is  a  sinner ;  but  the  distinction  is 
nominal,  and  has  no  warrant  from  fact.  The  Creator 
is  the  Lawgiver,  and  he,  who  is  both  Creator  and 
Lawgiver,  is  the  only  Judge.  He  would  allow  no  hurt 
to  reach  the  innocent,  and  has  arranged  all  things  for 
the  happiness  of  the  obedient ;  consequently,  whatever 
evil  comes  upon  any  moral  creature  must  come  from 
the  wrath  of  God  and  is  a  punishment  of  guilt.  The 
skeptic,  making  out  of  his  own  purblind  fancy  a  law 
according  to  which  he  would  fashion  the  righteousness 
of  the  infinite  Creator,  may  presumptuously  deny  that 
our  good  God  can  be  so  severe  as  to  send  misery  on 
the  whole  race  of  man  through  Adam  ;  but  the  denial 
is  in  the  teeth  of  fact.      Misery  has  come  upon 'the 


in 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


[Lect.  IV. 


Lect.  IV.J 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


79 


I 


whole  race;  depravitj,  physical  and  moral,  has  been 
and  is  cliaracteristic  of  every  individual  who  has  a 
human  nature.  Whence  came  that  misery,  if  not 
from  the  Creator?  and  why  from  the  Creator,  if  it 
be  not  Ibe  punishment  of  sin  ?  If  the  fact  of  hu- 
man misery  were  not  obvious,  we  miglit  tolerate  for 
a  moment  the  hypothesis  of  the  objector ;  but,  when 
we  see  and  feel  a  fate  so  universal,  we  cannot  doubt 
that  it  is  from  God,  and  when  we  know  that  it  is  from 
God,  we  cannot  doubt  that  it  is  just. 

Besides,  when  the  law  was  ordered  and  given  as  both 
the  rule  of  man's  duty  and  the  method  of  his  happi- 
ness, he  was  able  to  keep  it ;  since  he  has  so  lost  his 
ability  that  (in  the  language  of  Scripture)  he  "  cannot 
please  God ; "  must  then  God  lower  the  demands  of 
Wi  liif  and  accommodate  it  to  our  fallen  nature  ?     No 
one  can  soberly  contend  for  that.     Should  a  law  pun- 
ishing murder  restrain  its  operation  against  the  wretch 
wi®  has  become  so  malignant  and  brutal  that  he  can- 
not keep  from  shedding  blood  for  revenge  or  rapine  ? 
Or  shoald  the  poisonous  effects  of  strong  drink  cease 
in  the  constitution  of  the  drunkard,  because  he  cannot 
resist   the  terrible  thirst  which   he  has  wickedly  ac- 
quired ?     Upon  such  a  principle,  the  worse  a  man  is, 
the  less  pure  and  «i»cting  the  law  over  him  should 
he.     It  is  i|i>t  the  fault  of  the  law,  but  of  the  sinner, 
that  im'  comes  under  its  penalties,  which  are  intended, 
not  to  make  man  miserable,  but  to  deter  him  from  sin, 
which  will  certainly  make  him  miserable. 

3.  The  inability  of  man  to  keep  the  law  of  God, 
which  we  derive  through  our  descent  from  Adam,  is 
not  of  such  a  nature  as  to  free  us  from  blameworthi- 
ness.    There  may  have  been,  there  probably  has  been, 


all  along  with  our  reasoning,  an  objection  in  the  minds 
of  some,  tliat  the  absence  of  power  to  obey  renders 
obedience  on  our  part  impossible,  which  seems  to  go  far 
towards  relieving  us  from  guilt.  But  let  us  consider 
more  closely  the  nature  of  this  inability,  and  where  it 
lies.  It  is,  doubtless,  a  moral  inability,  for  it  respects 
moral  acts  ;  and  as  morality  (or  right  and  wrong) 
belongs  to  the  will,  the  inability  must  lie  in  the  will. 
Mark,  —  in  asserting  that  our  inability  is  of  the  will, 
we  are  far  from  asserting,  as  some  with  more  art 
than  correctness  have  done,  that  we  have  a  natural 
ability  to  keep  the  law  of  God.  To  speak  of  a  natural 
ability  to  do  a  moral  act,  is  a  confusion  of  terms  utterly 
unjustifiable,  and  can  lead  to  no  sound  result.  The 
exercise  of  what  are  termed  our  natural  faculties,  (not 
those  of  our  bodies  but  of  our  souls,)  such  as  the  fac- 
ulty of  understanding  or  loving,  have  a  moral  char- 
acter only,  because  of  the  exercise  of  the  will  through 
them.  Morality  is,  we  know,  inseparable  from  the  ex- 
ercise of  those,  so  called,  natural  faculties,  because  the 
exercise  of  them  is  always  by  the  will ;  but,  for  the 
same  reason,  their  moral  character  is  derived  from  the 
will.  To  know  God  is  our  duty,  yet  could  not  be  our 
duty  if  we  were  without  the  faculty  of  knowing ;  to 
love  God  is  our  duty,  yet  could  not  be  if  we  had  not 
the  faculty  of  loving  ;  but  as  both  our  understanding 
and  our  heart  are  exercised  by  our  will,  there  can  prop- 
erly be  no  ability  to  do  what  is  moral  where  the  will 
is  not  concerned  and  engaged.  To  deny  the  moral 
ability  to  do  right  (by  which  is  understood  ability  of 
will)  is  to  deny  all  ability  to  do  right.  At  the  same 
time,  it  must  be  seen  that  there  is  a  reflex  action  of  the 
understanding  and  affections  upon  the  will,  biasing  it, 


mSSS 


80 


PUNISHMENT  Of  SIN. 


[Lect.  IV. 


and,  where  it  is  weak,  controlling  it,  because  the  will 
itself  is  determined  (so  far  as  we  can  discover  the  laws 
of  its  mystery)  by  the  motives  presented  to  it.     This, 
however,  strengthens  the  objection  to  the  claim  of  nat- 
ural ability  to  ^erve  God,  because  both  Scripture  and 
experience  teach  us  that  the  understanding  is  darkened 
md  weakened  by  sin,  while  our  affections  have  from 
the  same  fatal  cause  acquired  a  proneness  to  evil,  thus 
influencing  the  will  to  wrong  as  well  as  being  directed 
by  it.     In  fact,  our  whole  spiritual  being  is  disorganized 
from  its  proper  balance  and  adjustment,  needing  an  en- 
tire renovation  as  a  whole,  and  in  each  part.     So  the 
Apostle  declares  that  God  worketh  in  the  believer  "both 
to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure  ; "  his  under- 
standing must  be  enlightened  and  his  heart  changed. 
This  corruption  of  his  so-called  natural  powers  does 
not  free  the  sinner  from  guilt,  because  he  has  himself 
corrupted  them  wilfully.     Had  God  created  man  with- 
out eyes,  he  surely  would  not  have  required  from  him 
an  admiring  study  of  visible  creation  ;    but  if  man, 
after  having  received  sight,  had  wilfully  deprived  him- 
self of  his  eyes,  he  would  not  by  so  criminal  an  act 
have  escaped  from  his  duty,  because  his  acquired  ina- 
bility would  have  been  a  sin  involving  all  the  conse- 
quent omissions  ;  just  as  human  law  holds  a  drunken 
man  responsible  for  all  the  wrong  he  does  while  in  a 
state  of  self-assumed  craziness.    God  gave  man  a  sound 
reason  and  unpolluted  affections  ;  but  he  depraved  those 
faculties  wilfully,  and  is  justly  responsible  for  the  conse- 
quences of  that  depravity. 

It  is  clear,  however,  that  much  of  the  difficulty  thrown 
around  this  subject  arises  from  the  insufficiency  of  our 
human  language  to  state  clearly  what  concerns  spiritual 


,Lect.  IV.] 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


81 


or  moral  things.     Power,  strength,   ability,   are  terms 
primarily  expressive  of  physical  faculty  ;   and  cannot 
apply  with   parallel  force,  or  corresponding  sense,  to 
the  will  of  the  spiritual  soul.     When  the  will  is  ex- 
ercised, there  is  clioice  ;  and  when  we  say  that  man 
cannot,  before  he  is  regenerate,  choose  the  service  of 
God,    we    do    not  mean    that  he  is  compelled  to  evil 
by  a  force  without   himself,  as  a  stream  runs  down- 
ward or  a   flame  points   upward  ;    but    that  he  is  so 
wicked  by  nature  that  his  choice  is  inevitably  fixed  on 
what  is  Avrong.     He  cannot  do  right,  because  he  is  so 
bent  on  doing  wrong.     Can  any  of  us  say  that  he  is 
forced  to  sin  whether  he  will  or  not  ?     Can  he  say  that 
his  bondage  to  sin  does  not  include  his  will,  or  that, 
when  he  sins,  he  is  not  a  voluntary  agent  ?     There  is 
no  reasoning  on  this  ;  we  know  it,  in  the  same  way  that 
we  know  we  exist,  from  our  consciousness.     If,  then, 
we  sin  of  our  own  accord,  can  we  be  innocent  ?     Nay, 
if  we  are  without  a  disposition  to  obey  God,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  of  our  guilt.     It  is  the  want  of  a  heart  to 
serve  him  for  which  God  condemns  us.     The  inability 
spoken  of  by  the  word  of  God  and  the  Catechism,  is 
nothing  else  than  that  depravity  of  our  nature  through 
sin  by  which  our  heart  is  alienated  from  God,  our  un- 
derstanding blinded,  and  our  very  conscience  perverted. 
Therefore,  (in  the  language  of  the  Episcopal  Church,) 
"  the  condition  of  man  after  the  fall,  is  such,  that  he 
cannot  turn  and  prepare  himself,  by  his  own  natural 
strength   and   good  works,  unto   faith   and  calling  of 
God." 

It  may  be  objected  that  the  Apostle  speaks  of  "  doing 
the  thing  he  would  not,"  and  our  Church  in  the  Com- 
munion service,  of  "  sin  remaining  against  our  will  in 

VOL.   I.  G 


I 


1 1 


I 


82 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIX. 


[Lect.  IV. 


tf 


US ; "  ipt  in  those  passages  we  must  understand 
"  would  "  and  "  will "  to  mean  the  general  purpose 
and  desire  of  a  believer,  which  is  for  the  consecration 
of  his  whole  being  to  God. 

4.  Tlie  method  of  God  in  salvation  justifies  his  con- 
demnation of  us  under  Adam  ;  for  Christ  takes  the 
place  of  a  second  Adam,  and  holds  the  same  federal 
relation  to  the  elect,  whom  he  represents,  as  the  first 
Adam  did  to  his  natural  posterity.  In  him  the  be- 
liever is  justified,  as  in  the  first  man  he  was  condemn- 
ed ;  by  the  righteousness  and  expiation  of  Christ  in 
his  stead,  he  is  pardoned,  accepted,  and  rewarded  ; 
the  blessing  comes  on  Christ  the  Head  first,  then  on 
every  member  of  the  Church  which  is  his  body  ;  and 
the  strength  enabling  him  to  do  right  is  not  his  own, 
but  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
dwelling  in  him.  It  is  only  through  such  representa- 
tion or  suretyship  of  Christ  tlAit  he  can  be  saved  from 
either  the  guilt  or  the  power  of  sin,  as  the  Apostle  says : 
"  For,  if  t»j  one  man's  offence  death  reigned  by  one, 
much  more  they,  which  receive  abundance  of  grace 
and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness,  shall  reign  in  life  by 
one,  Jesus  Christ." 

To  deny  the  justice  of  representation  as  a  principle 
on  which  God  may  deal  with  us,  is  to  take  away  all 
hope  of  our  salvation.  Indeed,  when  handling  the 
subject  of  the  fall,  we  should  have  constant  refer- 
ence to  the  condition  of  sinners  under  the  Gospel, 
as  a  remedial  system,  for  such  is  our  condition ;  and, 
therefore,  every  other  method  of  considerinji  it  would 
be  more  curious  than  practical ;  since  God  leaves  us 
who  hear  the  Gospel  not  irrecoverably  lost  through 
Adam,  but  with  the  gracious  opportunity  of  restora- 
tion through  Christ. 


f 


tit 


LiCT.  IT.] 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


83 


In  conclusion,  let  every  believer  ask  Iiimself  if  he 
does  not  feel  that  of  his  own  nature  he  is  utterly  un- 
able to  obey  God,  yet  that  he  is  guilty  for  not  obeying 
him ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  that  "  it  "is  God  who  work- 
eth  m  h.m  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure?  " 
Such  conviction  of  Christian  experience  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  Catechism. 

Secondly  :   The  sentence  passed  upon  fallen,  sinful 
man. 

Our  guilt,  because  of  our  sins,  having  been  demon- 
strated, the  question  recurs :  Shall  we  be  suffered  to 
go  unpunished  by  the  good  God,  whom  we  have  re- 
belled  against  ?  And  the  Catechism  answers :  "  By 
no  means  ;  but  (he)  is  terribly  displeased  with  our 
original  as  well  as  actual  sins  ;  and  will  punish  them 
in  his  just  judgment,  temporally  and  eternally,  as  he 
hath  declared  :  '  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth 
not  m  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the 
law  to  do  them.'  " 

From  the  line  of  argument  which  we  have  chosen, 
much,  which  otherwise  should  come  under  this  head, 
has  been  anticipated,  yet  several  important  things  are 
yet  to  be  noted  :  The  terms  of  the  condemnation  ;  the 
reason  of  it ;  and  its  extent. 

1.  The  terms  of  the  condemnation:  "Cursed  is 
every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which 
are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them." 
This  is  the  anguage  of  God  himself  as  given  by  the 
Apostle  Paul  out  of  the  older  Scripture.  Curse  is  the 
opposite  of  blessing ;  both  imply  the  action  of  God, 
tor  he  alone  can  curse,  and  he  alone  can  bless ;  bless- 
ing IS  the  happy  consequence  of  his  favor,  cui^ing  is 
the  miserable  consequence  of  his  anger.      Sometimes 


H 


■; 


i 


II 


I 


84 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


[Lect.  IV. 


Lect.  IV.] 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


85 


M 


these  opposite  terms  are  applied  to  unconscious  objects, 
:  >'  a  field  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed,  which  for 
il  reason  is  fruitful ;  or  "cursed  is  the  ground,"  which 
for  that  reason  brought  forth  thorns  and  thistles  ;  yet 
such  merely  material  things  are  not  themselves  prop- 
erly objects  of  divine  blessing  or  cursing,  but  only  the 
*  means  through  which  God  blesses  or  curses  man. 
Blessing  or  cursing  are  often  restricted  to  particular 
concerns  or  parts  of  men's  interests,  but  when  used 
generally,  or  without  specification,  they  comprehend 
the  whole  of  man's  being  and  experience ;  and  are 
then  synonymous  with  life  and  death  in  their  full 
sense,  —  for  the  favor  of  God  is  life,  and  the  anger  of 
God  is  death.  Thus  Moses,  having  declared  the  law 
ifilll  iii  sanctions  of  reward  and  punishment,  says : 
^•I  call  heaven  and  earth  to  record  this  day  against 
you,  that  I  have  set  before  you  life  and  death,  blessing 
aid  oirsing ;  therefore  choose  life,  that  both  thou  and 
thy  seed  may  live."  So  in  the  sentence  before  us, 
"  Every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things,  which 
are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law,  to  do  them,"  is 
denounced  as  "  cursed,"  that  is,  condemned  to  death, 
or  to  all  the  awful  effects  of  divine  wrath  ;  God  not 
only  withdrawing  from  him  his  favor,  but  also  pursuing 
him  with  his  vengeance.  How  extreme  must  be  the 
misery  of  one  whose  enemy  is  God  omnipotent ! 

The  sentence  is  passed :  "  Cursed  is  every  one  who 
eontinueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book 
of  the  law  to  do  them."  God  has,  it  is  true, ''  appointed 
a  day  in  which  he  will  judge  the  world,"  but  his  wrath 
does  not  linger  until  then  ;  for  the  day  of  judgment  is 
rather  the  time  of  the  public  final  award  to  the  right- 
eous of  life  eternal,  and  to  the  wicked  of  death  eternal. 


at  the  close   of  the  mediatorial  scheme.      Doubtless, 
there  will  then  be  a  great  increase  of  happiness  on  thJ 
one  hand,  and  of  misery  on  the   other,   because  the 
sentence  either  way  will  be  fully  carried  out,  the  inter- 
cession of  Christ  being  ended  ;  but  the  sentence  against 
thp  sinner  is  already  passed,  and  partly  put  in  force  the 
moment  he  is  a  sinner  ;  nay,  the  only  reason  why  it  is 
not  executed  at  once  is  the  stay  of  divine  vengeance  to 
give  opportunity  of  salvation  through  the  Atoner.     So 
the  language  is  not  "  cursed  will  be  "  the  sinner,  but 
''  cursed  is  he."     "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou 
shalt  surely  die,"  and  in  the  day  lie  ate  he  did  die  ;  he 
lost  the  favor  of  God  which  is  life,  he  came  under  the 
anger  of  God  which  is  death  ;  death  in  his  body  which 
then  began  to  die ;  death  in  his  soul  which  then  became 
corrupt;  death  in  his  entire  humanity,  because  under 
condemnation  ;  death  upon  all  the  race  which  he  rep- 
resented :    "  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world, 
and  death  by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men  for 
that  all  have  sinned  ;  "  and  again  :   "  By  the  offence 
of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation." 
How  dreadful  is  this  thought !     We  are  already  con- 
demned ;  and  unless  we  have  escaped  to  the  shelter  of 
Christ's  mediation,  the  unspeakable  weight  of  the  curse 
of  God  may  at  any  moment  crush  us  into  hell  forever ; 
all  the  woes  we    sufl^er   now,    unless  they  have    been 
changed  to  fatlierly  discipline  by  the  adopting  grace 
of  God  in  Christ,  are  but  faint  presaging  shadows  of 
our  eternal  doom. 

The  sentence  is  passed  upon  all  sinners  :  "  Cursed  is 
every  one,"  &c.     "  The  Scripture  hath  concluded  all 
under  sin,"  for  "  there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no  not 
"  Death  hath  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all 


one. 


PUNISHMENT  QI  SIN. 


[Lect.  IV. 


Lect.  IV.] 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


87 


have  sinned."     In  our  mortality  and  moral  corruption 
we  have  the  proof  of  both  our  sin  and  our  condemna- 
tion.    We  cannot  escape  on  the  plea  that  we  have 
broken  only  one  or  a  few  of  the  divine  precepts  and 
kept  the  rest ;  even  if  this  were  possible,  the  sentence 
is  against  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  thinys 
which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them ; " 
so  that  to  escape  the  curse  we  must  not  only  keep  all 
the  commandments,  but  keep  them  continually,  with- 
out  exceptkp   and   without   intermission.     But   it   is 
not  possible ;  "  for,"  says  the  Apostle  James,  "  who- 
soever  shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in 
one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all.     For   he  that  said   do 
not  commit  adultery,  said  also,  do  not  kill.     Now  if 
thou   commit  no  adultery,  yet  if  thou  kill,  thou  art 
become  a  transgressor  of  the  law."     The  sin  lies  not 
merely  in    a  particular  offence,  or   in  the  breach  of 
one  particular  commandment ;  but  in  rebelling  against 
tlie   authority  of  him   who  ordained   the  whole  law, 
showing    plainly    that    the    sinner    is    not    restrained 
from  breaking  the  rest  by  the  reverence  he  has  for 
God,  but  only  through  temperament,  or  absence  of 
trial,  or   lack'  of  opportunity.      He,   who  would   for 
sound  religious  reasons  keep  one  precept,  would  from 
the  same  conscientious  motive  abstain  from   breaking 
all  the  rest.     Therefore  is  the  sinner  condemned  for 
having  rebelled  against  the  majesty  of  the  Lawgiver. 
Who,  then,  my  hearers,  can  stand  ?     Who  among  us 
has  always  and  at  all  times  made  the  law  of  God,  be- 
cause it  is  God's  law,  the  rule  of  his  conduct  ?     Who 
of  us  can  abide  the  scrutiny,  when  God  searches  our 

inmost  hearts  ? 

%   The  reason  of  the  condemnation. 


God  is  terribly  displeased  with  our  original  as  well 
as  actual  sins. 

The  word  God  is  not  only  the  distinguishing  'name 
of  the  infinite  Being,  but  also  a  title  of  his  supreme 
office.  We  cannot  use  it  rightly  without  understand- 
ing by  it  the  Moral  Governor,  as  well  as  the  Creator 
of  the  Universe.  As  belief  in  an  all- wise  First  Cause 
throws  chance  entirely  out  of  the  physical  system, 
bringing  all  things  under  law ;  so  it  is  impossible  that 
the  Sovereign  can  be  indifferent  to  the  character  and 
acts  of  his  moral  subjects.  The  freedom  of  their 
agency  does  not  put  them  beyond  his  authority,  else 
they  would  become  more  than  creatures  and  he  less 
than  supreme.  They,  therefore,  must  be  under  law, 
and  their  happiness  or  misery  be  in  proportion  to  their 
conformity  or  lack  of  conformity  with  the  divine  law ; 
so  that,  giving  to  their  freedom  its  widest  definition,  it 
can  be  nothing  more  than  freedom  to  work  out  their 
happiness  or  misery  under  the  law  of  the  Creator. 
But  the  law,  under  which  they  act,  must  spring  from 
the  very  nature  of  God,  and,  as  he  is  essentially  holy, 
whatever  in  the  moral  creature  is  contrarv  to  the 
divine  holiness,  must  bring  upon  him  the  hostility  of 
the  divine  })ower. 

Again :  whatever  definition  may  be  given  to  right, 
the  rule  of  right  for  the  moral  creature  can  be  no  other 
than  the  expressed  will  of  his  divine  Lord ;  he  has,  as 
a  subject,  reason  to  look  for  such  a  declaration  of  the 
divine  will  respecting  his  acts,  (since  "  sin  is  not  im- 
puted where  there  is  no  law,")  and  God  has  revealed 
that  law  clearly  to  us  ;  a  transgression  of  the  revealed 
law  is,  therefore,  a  rebellion  aijainst  our  riojhtful  Sov- 
ereign,  and  the  transgressor  must  be  dealt  with  as  a 


ilkllwd»UU,Laa.Ullli:Ml  lHUL4h     lUiLdHlLllJir'    J         Jill    y<  I.     KdHLt.'!':. 


88 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIH. 


[Lect.  IV. 


|l 


traitor.     Yet  again :  no  man  is  alone  m  the  wor  d  not 
do  his  actions  aftect  only  his  own  well  being,  but  he 
belon.^  to  a  vast  community  of  human  bemgs,  moral 
creatures  like  himself,  so  interlinked  that  their  act.ons 
necessarily  boar  upon  each  other  and  upon  the.r  pc.- 
terity  •  God  is  the  (Jovernor  and  Defender  of  the  whole 
as  he 'is  of  each,  and  therefore  any  breach  of  the  law 
cnven  to  conserve  the  happiness  of  all,  must  be  regarded 
by  him  as  a  grievous  offence  against   hun,  because 
acralnst  the  peace  of  those  under  his  care. 
"Once   more  :    all    his   intelligent   creatures   have   a 
right  to  ask  from  God  his  estimate  of  right  or  wrong, 
the  decree  in  which  the  one  is  meritorious,  the  other 
damnable ;  nor  can  they  learn  this  except  from  the 
reward  he  attaches  to  obedience  and  the  penalties  he 
denounces  against  disobedience.     Were  he  to  overlook  . 
his  creatures'  good  or  evil,  were  he  to  reward  lightly  or 
punish  lightly,  even  in  a  single  case,  the  consistency  ot 
his  administration  would  be  shaken,  and  doubt  as  to 
the  verv  principles  of  truth  <»  happiness  would  darken 
over   the   universe.      The  dreadfuhiess   of   the   cu.;se 
•  a-ainst  sin  is  the  expression  of  the  sense  he  has  of  its 
enormity,  and  meant  to  deter  his  subjects  from  ,t ;  but 
when  anv  will,  notwithstanding,  transgress,  the  penalty 
thev  defv  must  take  its  course.     Thus  we  see  that  God 
«  terribly  displeased  with  sin  from  the  holiness  of  his 
nature,  fn.m  jealous  vindication  of  his  authority,  from 
his  regard  for  the  happiness  of  his  subjects,  and  trom 
his  design  to  teach  his  moral  universe  the  only  way  ot 

*  Sn,  therefore,  in  any  form  that  may  be  chargeable 
on  us,  must  excite  his  severe  displeasure ;  our  actual 
sins  not  only,  but,  also,  oni'  sin  in  which  we  are  born  ; 


; 


Lect.  IV.] 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


89 


for,  if  the  overt  act  be  a  trangression  of  his  law,  the 
disposition  or  tendency  to  transgression  which  is  in  our 
nature .  nnist  be  oftensive  to  him  as  the  root  or  fountain 
of  all  sin. 

As  to  our  actual  sins,  tlie  testimony  of  the  word  of 
God  is  so  clear,  that  none  of  them  will  escape  his  right- 
eous anger,  as  to  need  nothing  from  us,  especially  after 
our  previous  reasoning.  But  the  Catechism,  by  our 
innate  or  born  sins,  ("  original  "  as  the  English  trans- 
lator has  it,)  evidently  means  not  only  our  native  cor- 
ruption, but  also  the  sin  of  our  first  parent  in  whom 
we  fell.  This  we  shall  now  argue  no  farther  than  to 
say,  upon  the  testimony  of  afore-cited  Scripture,  and 
upon  the  proof  everywhere  seen  of  the  whole  race 
being  as  a  race  under  the  curse  pronounced  upon 
Adam,  that  God  holds  us  guilty  because  we  are  chil- 
dren of  Adam,  the  progenitor  of  us  all.  How  else,  we 
ask  again,  can  we  account  for  the  suffering  and  mor- 
tality of  babes  before  they  are  capable  of  actual  sin  ? 
Not  that  we  can  believe  in  the  damnation  of  infants,  as 
has  been  falsely  charged  on  those  who  hold  our  creed ; 
on  the  contrary,  only  we  can  consistently  hold  the  doc- 
trine of  their  salvation,  because  we  believe  that  they 
are  saved  through  the  merit  of  Him  who  has  said  : 
"Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Are  we  asked : 
What  would  have  been  their  fate,  if  the  redemption 
had  not  been  provided  ?  We  answer  that  of  such 
contingencies  we  have  no  knowledge,  and,  therefore, 
no  right  or  room  for  conjecture,  except  that  in  no  cir- 
cumstances God  would  do  unjustly.  Sufhcient  is  it  for 
us  to  know  tliat  we  are  all  condemned,  all  under  the 
curse,  all  born  in  sin  ;  and  (thanks  be  unto  God  for  his 
unspeakable  gift !)  that  there  is  full  redemption  through 
Jesus  Christ  lor  all  avIio  believe  on  his  name. 


I! 


I 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


[Lkct.  IV. 


O  my  friends,  how  terrible  must  be  the  displeasure 
rf  G«)d,  and  how  base  that  sin  which  clouds  with 
frowns  acrainst  his  creatures  the  face  of  him,  whose 
names  are  Life  and  Light  and  Love  1 
3.  The  extent  of  the  condemnation. 
God  "  will  punish  them  (our  sins)  in  his  just  judg- 
Ipent,  teiiiporally  and  eternally." 

The  penal  consequences  of  sin,  included  by  the  curse 
liro  temporal  and  eternal,  on  (as  the  answer  to  the 
next  question  states)  both  body  and  soul." 

Man,  as  God  created  him,  consists  of  both  body  and 
soul.     His  soul,  having  a  life  peculiar  to  itself,  may 
exist  without  his  body,  and  will  so  exist  from  the  time 
of  his  so  called  death  until  the  Last  Day ;  but  then 
it  is  not  the  entire  man  ;  neither  is  it  the  design  of  God 
that  the  soul  should  be  disembodied,  except  for  a  pass- 
ing, purpose  ;  nor  can  the  soul  have  its  full  sensibility 
or  put  forth  its  full  energy  when  apart  from  the  body. 
God  contrived  the  body  with  its  faculties  to  be  the 
dwelling  and  instrument  of  the  soul ;  he  created  and 
fitted  the  soul  (unlike  angelic   spirit)  to  live  in  the 
iHidy  and  act  through  it.     The  relations  of  body  and 
soul  are,  therefore,  most  intimate.     As  we  see  it  in  this 
life,  the  sympathy  of  each  with  the  other  is  close  and 
necessary.^     Through    the   bodily   appetites,  the    soul 
maintains 'or  impairs    its  natural  vigor;   through  the 
bodily  senses,  it  perceives  and  derives  ideas  from  ex- 
ternal things  ;  through  the  bodily  faculties,  it  acts  out- 
wardly its  will  ;    through  the  passions,  which  belong 
both  to  it  and  the  body  in  combination,  it  enjoys  or 
suffers.     The  soul,  it  is  true,  has  faculties  and  affections 
]iieiliif ^^^  to  itself,  and  alone  has  will,  but  it  has  not  the 
complete  powers  intended  for  its  action  without  the 


Lkct.  IV.] 


PUNISHMENT   OF   SIN. 


91 


means  and  implements  supplied  by  the  body  ;  for  which 
reason  a  "  spiritual  body  "  (as  the  apostle  characterizes 
it)  as  well  as  a  sanctified  soul  is  necessarv  to  the  entire 
felicity  of  man  in  heaven,  not  less  than  in  paradise  on 
earth ;  which  makes  the  clear-sighted  Paul,  even  while 
lamenting  the  impediments  of  a  corrupt  body,  desire 
not  to  "  be  unclothed,  but  clothed  upon,  that  mortality 
might  be  swallowed  up  of  life."  It  follows,  therefore, 
without  dwelling  now  longer  on  this  most  interesting 
topic,  that  the  punishment  of  sin,  and  the  reward  of 
righteousness  as  well,  must  be  both  on  body  and  soul, 
or  on  the  entire  man.  The  bodv  is  the  instrument  of 
the  soul's  ungodly  acts  and  unholy  pleasures  and  con- 
taminating influences,  so  through  and  in  the  body  must 
the  sinful  soul  suffer  punishment ;  yet,  as  the  soul  has 
its  peciilkr  properties  which  it  prostitutes  to  sin,  the 
punishment  must  also  be  heavy  on  the  soul  itself  imme- 
diately. 

This,  we  have  seen,  is  the  case  temporally,  because 
the  curse  has  passed  upon  all  men,  and  many  specific 
punishments  occur  on  every  hand.  Yet  it  should  be 
remarked  that  these  inflictions  of  divine  wrath  are  for 
the  most  part  warnings  against  the  wrath  to  come,  that 
men  may  repent ;  and  that  what  remains  of  them  on 
the  believer  have  the  curse  so  taken  out  of  them  as  to 
make  them  parts  of  the  divine  discipline,  educating  his 
yet  sinful  though  penitent  child  for  the  glory  above. 

The  punishment  will  be  eternal,  upon  the  impenitent 
sinner,  body  and  soul  in  this  life,  upon  his  soul  after 
death  until  the  Last  Day,  and  ever  after  upon  him 
body  and  soul,  for  his  body  will  then  be  raised  to  the 
resurrection  of  damnation.  The  eternity  or  perpetuity 
of  the  sinner's  punishment  is  plainly  declared  in  the 


if35 


riTNISllMENT  OF  SIX. 


[Lect.  IV. 


Lect.  IV. J 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


9B 


i>  |) 


word  of  God.      Let   one   text  out  of  many  suffice : 
**T!ie»  (Ae  wicked)  shall  go  away  into  everlasting 
punishment."     TliL«*  proof  is,  however,  objected  to  by 
some  on    the    plea   that   the  original  word,  rendered 
♦'everlastino-,"   seldom    or   never   in  Scripture   means 
€^erlasting,"but  only  a  long  period.     Our  answeris 
easy  mi  prompt,  that  the  same  word  is  apphed  in  the 
0llief  part  of  the  verse  to  the  blessedness  of  the  right- 
was,  *♦  into  life  eternal."     If  tl|«  criticism  were  sound 
the  happiness  of  the  righteous  as  well  as  the  misery  of 
the  wicked  will  be  for  only  a  limited  period.     But  men 
are  immortaL     Where,  then,  will  the  wicked  ]^^^^f^^ 
be  after  having  passed  through  the  age  of  hell  ?  Where 
Ae   immortal    righteous,   after   the    age   of  heaven  ? 
Where  the  immortal  soul,  when  heaven  and  hell  are 
both  past  ?     The  objection  is  absurd. 

Besides,  if,  as  has  been  shown,  the  natural  effects  ot 
sin   are  misery,  and  tie  justice  of  God  requires  the 
punishment  #1  the  sinner,  those  consequences,  natural 
and  penal,  must  remain  upon  the  sinner  so  long  as  he 
continues  to  be  a  sinner,  every  moment  of  his  sinful- 
ness working  out  fresh  misery  and  provoking  anew  the 
wrath  of  the  Judge.     But  the  Scriptures  teach  us  that 
there  is  no  repentance  after  death,  and  that  with  death 
all  opportunities  of  God's  converting  grace  are  closed  ; 
wherefore  it  must  be  that  the  impenitent  soul  will  grow 
woim  from  the  downward  tendency  of  sin,  and  so  his 
misery  increase  constlWl|i  forever.     Let  us,  then,  dear 
friends,  hasten  while  we  may  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come,  for  tliere  is  no  escape  across  the  gulf  which  God 
has  fixed  between   hell   and   heaven  !      ''  To-day,  if 
*  w#'  HEill  bear  his  voice,  let  us  not  harden  our  hearts, 
l«l1ie  "  swear  "  unto  OS  IP  liis  ''wrath:  Ye  shall  not 
see  my  rest. 


swear 


Thirdly:     The   certainty  that   the   sentence  tvill  be 

executed. 

After  the  previous  reasoning,  but  one  objection  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  sinner's  punishment  remains  for  us  to 
answer,  which  is,  that  God  is  merciful,  and,  therefore, 
will  not  be  so  severe  against  his  human  creatures,  even 
though  they  have  broken  his  law.  The  reply  of  the 
Catechism  is  ours  :  ''  God,  is,  indeed  merciful,  but  also 
just:  therefore  his  justice  requires  that  sin,  which  is 
committed  against  the  most  liigli  majesty  of  God,  be 
also  punished  with  extreme,  that  is,  everlasting  punish- 
ment both  of  body  and  soul." 

That  God  is  merciful,  we  rejoice  in  knowing  from 
countless  passages  of  Scripture,  but  those  which  assert 
his  justice  are  scarcely  less  numerous.  His  justice 
demands  that  sin,  every  sin,  against  his  law  should  be 
followed  with  appropriate  punishment.  His  law  has 
been  proclaimed  with  its  penalty  of  curse,  and  so  the 
punishment  is  now  demanded  by  the  truth  of  God. 
Sin  is  an  offence  not  only  against  God  himself  as  our 
Creator  and  owner,  but  also  against  him  as  the  most 
hitrh  Sovereign  of  the  universe,  whose  office  is  to  teach 
alfhis  intelligent  subjects  what  is  the  way  of  right  and 
the  consequences  of  keeping  or  departing  from  it ;  but 
also  to  defend  and  vindicate  them  from  the  evil  of  sin 
by  which  the  disobedient  may  assail  the  welfare  of  the 
faithful.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  his  mercy,  when 
exercised,  must  be  consistent  with  his  justice,  and  in  no 
case  can  remit  the  punishment  of  sin.  If  by  merc}^  is 
meant  mere  pity  for  the  transgressor,  which  allows  him 
to  escape  the  righteous  sentence  against  him,  it  would 
be  a  weakness  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  perfection  of 
God ;  for  where,  then,  would  be  the  force  of  his  law, 


94 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


[Lect.  IV. 


where  the  consistency  of  his  administration,  where  the 
knowledge  of  his  wrath  against  sin  ?  What  should  we 
think  of  a  human  sovereign,  presiding  over  a  consider- 
able community,  if  he  should  cease  to  execute,  or  irreg- 
ularly execute,  the  laws  out  of  pity  for  the  offenders  ? 
Should  we  not  say  that  he  was  unfit  to  govern,  that 
his  miscalled  mercy  to  the  criminal  was  cruelty  to  the 
many,  because  encouraging  crime  by  the  prospect  of 
impunity  ;  and  that  if  such  a  course  were  continued,  it 
would  end  in  anarchy  and  utter  ruin  ?  Would  this  be 
less  true  on  the  enlarged  scale  of  the  divine  dominion  ? 
So  long  as  we  attribute  to  God  the  moral  government 
of  the  universe,  we  must  believe  that  so  principal  a 
part  of  executive  sovereignty  as  the  punishment  of 
offences  against  organic  law  will  be  faithfully  adminis- 
tered. If  God  punish  not  wrong,  where  shall  we  look 
for  the  vindication  of  right  ? 

God  is  merciful,  but  his  mercy  cannot  contradict  his 
justice.  There  must,  therefore,  be  a  method  by  which 
the  divine  mercy  is  justified,  and  the  divine  justice 
administered  through  mercy.  This  is  the  purpose  and 
end  of  the  redemption  through  Christ,  the  delightful 
doctrines  of  which  it  will  be  our  privilege  to  consider 
on  the  subsequent  Lord's  Days.  There  we  may  see 
that,  though  "  all  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the 
glory  of  God,"  all  who  believe  are  "justified  freely  by 
his  grace,  through  the  redemption  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus ;  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation, 
through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness 
for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past,  through  the  for- 
bearance of  God;  to  declare,  I  say,  at  this  time  his 
righteousness  ;  that  he  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier 
of  him  which  belie  veth  in  Jesus."    Yes,  beloved  breth- 


Lect.  IV.] 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN. 


95 


ren,  here  is  our  hope :  "  Cursed,"  indeed,  "  is  every  one 
that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in 
the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them  ;  but  Christ  hath  re- 
deemed us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a 
curse  for  us."  Death  by  Adam,  life  by  Christ ;  lost 
ourselves,  redeemed  by  Jesus ;  guilty  through  our  own 
sin,  justified  by  the  righteousness  of  Him  in  whom  we 
have  believed.  God  grant  us  all  this  faith,  that  we 
may  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life  !     Amen. 


LECTURE  V. 


NECESSITY  OF  A   MEDIATOR. 


vol*  I. 


I 


FIFTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
NECESSITY   OF    A   MEDIATOR. 

Quest.  XII.  Since,  then,  by  the  righteom  judgment  of  God,  we  deserve 
temporal  and  eternal  punishment,  is  there  no  way  by  which  we  may 
escape  that  punishment,  and  be  again  received  into  favor  f 

Ans.  God  will  have  his  justice  satisfied;  and,  therefore,  we  must  make 
this  full  satisfaction,  either  by  ourselves,  or  by  another. 

Quest.  XI II.     Can  we  ourselves,  then,  make  this  satisfaction  f 

Ans.    By  no  means;  but,  on  the  contrary,  we  daily  increase  our  debt. 

Quest.  XIV.  Can  there  be  found  anywhere  one  who  is  a  mere  creature 
able  to  satisfy  for  us  ? 

Ans.  None;  for,  first,  God  will  not  punish  any  other  creature  for  the  sin 
which  man  has  committed;  and,  further,  no  mere  creature  can  sustain 
the  burden  of  God's  eternal  wrath  against  sin,  so  as  to  deliver  others 
from  it. 

Quest.  XV.     WJiat  sort  of  a  mediator  and  deliverer,  then,  must  we  seek 
for? 

Ans.  For  one  who  is  very  man  and  perfectly  righteous ;  and  vet  more 
powerful  than  all  creatures,  that  is,  one  who  is  also  very  God.' 

TJITHERTO  our  meditations  on  the  Catechism  have 
been  sad  and  bitter,  though,  I  trust,  not  unprofit- 
able or  without  glimpses  of  comfort.     The  shadows  of 
the  curse  have  been  heavy,  yet  the  morning  light  of 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness  has  gilded  the  horizon.     It  is 
the  method  of  Christ's  Spirit  thus  to  humble  that  he 
may  exalt  us,  and,  by  convincing  us  of  our  guilt,  to 
prepare  us  for  hearing  with  great  joy  the  glad  tidings 
of  salvation  ;  nor  could  we  understand  how  we  may  be 
saved  through  the  representative  righteousness  of  Christ, 
did  we  not  first  see  our  ruin  through  the  fall  of  our 
first  father.    "  The  law  "  is  "  our  schoolmaster  to  bring 
us  unto  Christ,  that  we  "  may  "  be  justified  by  faith." 
Blessed  be  God,  that  wlien  our  sense  of  eternal  danger 


M 


100 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


[Lect.  V. 


makes  lis  cry  out:  What  must  we  do  to  be  saved? 
He  has  himself  given  us  the  answer  by  his  only  begot- 
ten Son,  our  Elder  Brother  !  Yea,  blessed  be  his  holy 
name,  that  he  honors  sinful  men  with  the  happy  office 
of  proclaiming  the  full  and  free  salvation  to  their  fel- 
low-sinners !  O  that  his  grace  would  strengthen  me, 
bis  most  unworthy  servant,  this  day  and  at  all  times  of 
my  ministry,  to  make  known  the  methods  of  his  mercy 
so  clearly  that  all  of  you,  my  dear  hearers,  may  by  the 
same  Spirit  be  comforted  and  built  up  in  the  faith  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  only  "name  under  heaven  given 
among  m^n,  whereby  we  must  be  saved  !  " 

Hereto  assist  us,  the  Almighty  God  and  Father  of 
mir  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Amen  ! 

Havinff  shown  us  our  condemnation  under  the  curse 
denounced  against  sinners,  the  Catechism  leads  us  to 
ask  if  there  be  any  way  of  deliverance  from  the  irre- 
sistible wrath  of  God,  and  gives  a  gleam  of  hope  in  the 
answer  to  Question  the  12th.  "God  will  have  his  jus- 
tice satisfied  ;  and,  therefore,  we  must  make  this  full 
satisfaction,  either  by  ourselves  or  by  another." 

If,  then,  w§  may  escape  through  a  full  satisfaction, 
for  the  dishonor  we  have  done  to  the  holy  law  of  God, 
can  we  ourselves  make  such  a  satisfaction  ?  This  is 
declared  to  be  impossible,  in  the  answer  to  Question  the 
lifli.  *'  By  no  means  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  we  daily 
increase  our  debt." 

But  if  W©  look  for  help  to  the  creatures  of  God,  is 
there  any  one  of  them  all  who  could  make  such  satis- 
faction for  us  ?  The  Catechism  replies,  in  the  answer 
to  Question  the  14th,  "  None  ;  for,  first  :  God  will  not 
mnnish  any  oilier  creature  for  the  sin  which  man  hath 
committed  ;  and,  further  :  no  mere  creature  can  sustain 


Lect.  V.] 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


101 


the  burden  of  God's  eternal  wrath,  so  as  to    deliver 
others  from  it." 

Thus  denied  all  hope  from  mere  creatures,  what 
kind  of  a  surety  must  we  look  for  ?  Ans.  15th.  "  For 
one  who  is  very  man,  and  perfectly  righteous ;  and  yet 
more  powerful  than  all  creatures,  that  is,  one  who  is 
also  very  God." 

This  is  our  lesson  proper  for  to-day;  but  if  you 
glance  over  that  of  the  Sixth  Lord's  Day,  you  will  see 
the  doctrines  of  the  14th  and  15th  Questions  and  an- 
swers there  more  thoroughly  opened,  for  which  reason 
we  shall  now  touch  them  but  lightly,  giving  our  atten- 
tion chiefly  to  the  12th  and  13th,  comprising,  however, 
the  treatment  of  the  whole  doctrine  in  both  Lord's 
Days  under  the  following  heads  : 

First  :  The  impossibility  of  our  salvation  by  our  own 
works. 

Secondly  :  The  possibility  of  our  salvation  through 
the  righteousness  of  a  sufficient  substitute,  - 

Thirdly  :  The  qualities  necessary  to  a  sufficient  sub- 
stitute, or  mediator,  for  us  with  God, 

Fourthly:  The  provision  of  such  a  substitute,  or 
mediator,  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  we  learn  from 
the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

First  :  TJie  impossibility  of  our  salvation  by  our  own 
good  works. 

This  is  taught  us,  according  to  Scripture,  in  the  12th 
and  13th  Questions  and  answers :  1.  "  God  will  have 
his  justice  satisfied."  2.  "  We  cannot,"  of  ourselves, 
make  such  satisfaction,  "  but,  on  the  contrary,  we  daily 
increase  our  debt." 

1.  "  God  will  have  his  justice  satisfied."  This,  you 
will  remember,  we  argued  at  length  in  our  lecture  on 


II 


102 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


[Lect.  V. 


the  Fourth  Lord's  Day,  when  treating  of  the  10th  and 
11th  Questions  and  answers  ;  but  we  may,  not  unprofit- 
ably,  repeat  the  main  points. 

a.  The  truth  of  God  demands  it ;  for  he  has  expressly 
tnd  repeatedly  declared  that  "  the  soul  which  sinneth, 
it  shall  die  ; "  "  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth 
not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the 
liiw  to  do  them  " ;  and  that  he  "  will  by  no  means  clear 
the  guiltj."  It  cannot,  for  a  moment,  be  supposed 
tlMt  God  wil!  deny  himself.  What  he  has  said,  he  will 
execute.  Whatever  sophisms  the  carnal  heart  may 
invent,  "  let  God  be  true  and  every  man  a  liar." 

K  The  holiness  of  God  demands  it ;  for  there  is  such 
a  contrariety  Ifl  sif!  to  his  own  purity  that  he  cannot 
look  upon  the  sinner  without  abhorrence ;  and,  as  his 
infinite  blessedness  results  from  his  infinite  holiness,  it 
must  be  that  the  result  of  sin  will  be  misery. 

e.  The  autharitj/  of  God  demands  it ;  for  if,  as  the 
Supreme  Ruler,  he  has  promulgated  his  law,  and  one 
of  his  subjects  break  that  law,  he  is  defied  to  his  face, 
and,  should  he  not  execute  the  penalty  incurred,  the 
transfrressor  will  seem  to  triumph,  and  the  divine  nde 
cease  to  be  infallible,  giving  encouragement  and  immu- 
nity to  sin. 

k  The  care  of  God  for  the  welfare  of  Ms  svhject- 
creatures  demands  it ;  since  his  law  was  given  to  guard 
the  happiness  of  each  from  the  injurious  encroachment 
or  remissness  of  any,  and  sin  is  a  positive  and  wide- 
spreading  injury,  any  tolerance  of  sin  on  his  part  would 
be  to  allow  of  wrong  being  done  by  the  sinner  against 
his  fellow-subjects,  who  should  have  the  divine  protec- 
tion. 

e.  The  moral  instruction  of  GocCs  rational  subjects 


I«K<3T.  v.] 


NECESSITY   OF  A  MEDIATOR". 


103 


demands  it ;  for,  only  from  his  revelation  of  his  will  in 
his  word  and  works  can  we  know  what  he  requires  of 
us,  the  distinction  in  his  sight  between  right  and  wrong, 
and  the  estimate  he  sets  upon  righteousness  and  upon 
wrong-doing.  Jf,  therefore,  he  allow  sin  to  pass  with- 
out punishing  the  sinner,  how  can  we  or  any  observer 
of  his  doings  know  the  way  of  right  and  reward  from 
the  way  of  wrong  and  punishment  ? 

Thus  we  see  that  the  escape  of  a  single  sinner  from 
punishment,  though  he  may  have  committed  but  a 
single  sin,  would  cause  a  fatal  doubt  of  the  divine 
truth,  of  the  divine  holiness,  of  the  divine  authority, 
of  the  divine  goodness,  and  of  the  divine  will.  Truly, 
therefore,  asserts  the  Catechism :  "  God  will  have  his 
justice  satisfied,"  and  until  that  satisfaction  be  ren- 
dered, we  cannot  escape  punishment.  As  certainly  as 
God  is  unchangeable,  the  unjustified  sinner  must  die. 

2.  "  We  cannot,  of  ourselves,  make  satisfaction  to  the 
divine  justice  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  we  daily  increase 
our  debt." 

Debt,  though  now  commonly  used  for  pecuniary 
obligation,  really  signifies  that  which  is  due,  whatever 
it  be.  Our  debt  to  God  is  twofold  :  The  penalty  we 
have  incurred,  and  the  constant  obedience  required  ; 
both  the  discharge  of  that  penalty,  and  the  rendering 
of  that  obedience,  are  necessary  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  law  to  which  we  are  subject ;  but  in  neither  part 
can  we  render  satisfaction  to  divine  justice. 

a.  Not  by  discharging  the  penalty.  For,  as  has  been 
shown,  the  guilt  of  man,  that  is,  his  desert  of  punish- 
ment, God  considers  so  great  that  no  suffering  of  man 
can  ever  expiate  it,  and  hence  his  punishment  will  be 
so  long  as  any  guilt  of  his  remains  ;*  which,  conse- 


104 


NECESSITY   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  U^^ot.  V. 


Lect.  v.] 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


105 


III 


quently,  if  man  be  left  to  himself,  will  be  perpetual  or 
eternal.  We  should  be  continually  enduring  punish- 
ment, but  never  finishing  the  payment  of  the  penalty ; 
and  our  expiation,  being  ever  imperfect,  would  be  pro- 

longed  forever. 

But  some  may  ask :  Will  not  God  allow  us  to  atone 
for  our  past  offences  by  future  obedience,  or,  in  other 
words,  make  u])  for  past  transgressions  by  our  repent- 
ance and  faithful  service  after  this  ?     The  answer  must 
be  in  the  negative.    When  a  penalty  has  been  deserved 
it  must  be  suffered.     No  remorse  can  destroy  the  sinful 
act   done   or   its   consequences.      The    law    has   been 
broken,  the  authority  of  God  has  been  insulted,  the 
evil  against  our  fellow-creatures  has  been  wrought,  the 
sentence  has  been  pronounced ;  no  regrets  can  annihi- 
late the  past.     Is   it  not  so  under  human  law  ?     Is 
remorse   ever   considered   an    expiation    of  crime,    or 
accepted  in  lieu  of  the  penalty  ?      The  thief  goes  to 
prison,  the  murderer  to  the  gallows,  though  they  weep 
never  so  bitterly  or  promise  never  so  well.    Sometimes, 
indeed,  the  penalty  may  be  mitigated,  but  it  would  be 
only  because  the  moral  sensibiHty  displayed  by  the  cul- 
prit shows  that  his  guilt  was  less,  not  that  his  tears  had 
washed  it  away.     Is  it  not  so  under  God's  natural 
laws?     Can  the  remorse  of  the  sensualist  repair  the 
peace  he  has  destroyed  ?  or  the  tears  of  the  drunkard 
restore  to  him  the  health  and  vigor  he  has  wasted  ? 
And  shall   a  few  pangs  of  the  sinner's  soul,  caused 
rather  by  dread  of  suffering  than  honest  sorrow  for 
crime,  suffice  to  hide  from  the  holy  God  all  trace  of  his 
offences  against  wise,  good,  and  just  law  ?     Let  it  once 
be  admitted  as  a  principle,  that  sorrow  for  sin  atones  for 
11,  and  the  value  of  law  is  at  an  end.     Again  :  The 


Jaw  of  God  is  so  broad  that  it  requires  all  our  service 
at  all  times.     Every  thought,  every  word,  every  act, 
every  moment  of  our  lives  belong  to  God.     All  our 
mind,  all  our  heart,  all  our  soul,  all  our  might,  belong 
to  God.     We  cannot,  without  sin,  alienate  our  strength 
for  a  single  moment  from   the  duty  which  belongs^'to 
that  moment.    If,  therefore,  we  have  at  any  time  failed 
to  render  an  entire  obedience,  we  can  never  compensate 
for  it ;  because,  even  though  we  should  afterward  ren- 
der an  entire  obedience,  it  is  no  more  than  what  we 
owe  to  God  at  the  time,  and  there  can  be  no  excess  or 
surplus  of  service  which  may  be  put  to  the  supply  of 
the  former  deficiency.     This  principle  is  acknowledged 
in  the  administration  of  human  laws  ;  for  they,  requir- 
ing good  conduct  at  all  times,  admit  no  previous  or  sub- 
sequent virtue  as   an   expiation  of  crime.     Though  a 
man  be  honest  all  the  rest  of  his  life,  if  he,  in  any'' one 
moment,  steal,  he  is  punished  as  a  thief;  if  he  commit 
but  one   murder,   he  is  executed.     The  penalty  may 
sometimes,  through  a  merciful  policy,  be  mitigated,  biit 
can  never,  in  strict  justice,  be  remitted. 

b,  Neither  can  we  satisfy  divine  justice  by  a  constant 
obedience ;  which  is  the  other  part  of  the  debt  we  owe 
to  God.    Granting,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  all  the 
penal  consequences  of  our  past  sins  were  removed  from 
us,  and  we  were  allowed  to  begin  anew  our  probation, 
we  could   not,  if  left   to   ourselves   and   our  present 
nature,  satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  divine  law,  but, 
"  on  the  contrary,"  should  "  daily  increase  our  debt ; " 
for,  as  has  been  shown  in  our  previous  lessons  (par- 
ticularly on  the  Second  and  Third  Lord's  Days),  the 
natural    consequence   of  sin    is    the   depravity  of  our 
moral  disposition   and   faculties,  so  that  we  are  from 


i 


iT" 


11 


MECESSITY   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  [^^<=^-  V- 

,ur  very  birth  "  wholly  incapable  of  doing  any  good, 
and  iJin«l  to  all  wickedness,"  "  except  we  be  regen- 
erated by  the  Spirit  of  God."     Upon  tins  depravity  of 
our  nature  we  have  already  argued  so  fully  that   no 
farther  proof  need  be  adduced.     It  is  clear  y  a  doctrme 
of  all  Scripture,  especially  that  which  declares,  on  the 
one  hand,  that  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  can  be 
justified,  and,  on  the  other,  that  sincere  repentance  and 
its  fruits  of  a  Christian  life  are  wrought  in  the  believer 
by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  converting  and  sancti- 
fvin-  hfs  soul.     The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
and  "the  grace  of  the  Spirit  is  bestowed  only  upon  those 
v,^ho  by  faith  receive  Christ  as  their  Saviour  because 
the  Saviour  of  sinners.     If  reformation  does  occur,  it 
is  only  through  the  operation  of  faith  in  tlie  Gospel 
which  reveals  the  atonement,  and  is,  therefore,  conse- 
auent  on  the  atonement.     Even  then  the  reformation 
is  never  complete  in  this  life,  and  the  more  a  penitent 
receives  of  divine  grace,  the  more  is  he  convinced  that 
"  it  is  God  who  worketh  in  "  him  "  both  to  will  and  to 
do  of  his  good  pleasure."     Without  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
we  are  utterly  unable  to  render  any  of  that  service 
which  the  law  requires  for  our  justification  ;  and  if  we 
be  retrenerated  so  that  we  lead  good  lives,  the  credit  is 
due,  not  to  us  for  our  justification,  but  to  him,  whose 
is   the   only  righteousness  which  God  will   accept   as 
sufficient  to  honor  the  law  under  which  we  live  and 
by  which  we  shall  be  tried. 

Thu«  we  see  that  in  no  sense  are  we  able  to  satisfy 
for  oui-selves  the  justice  of  God,  but  are  daily  increas- 
incr  our  debt,  and  heaping  up  for  ourselves  wrath 
agtinst  the  day  of  wrath.  Such  would  be  our  miserable 
condition  in  this  world,  and  such  our  terrible  fate  in  the 


Lect.  v.] 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


107 


world  to  come,  were  there  no  method  provided  for  ou- 
salvation,  other  than  that  originally  proposed  toman: 
our  personal  innocence  and  obedience.  But,  blessed 
be  God,  we  are  not  so  cut  ofF  from  hope ;  for  we 
learn : 

Secondly  :  The  possibilUy  of  our  salvation  through 
the  righteousness  of  a  sufficient  substitute, 

••  God  will  have  his  justice  satisfied,  and,  therefore, 
we  must  make  this  full  satisfaction  either  by  ourselves 
or  by  another."  (Ans.  12th.) 

The  necessity  of  satisfaction  having  been  shown,  and, 
also  that  we  cannot  make  it  of  ourselves,  a  new  ques-  . 
tion    arises :    Will  God  accept  of  satisfaction  rendered 
for  us  by  another? 

The  whole  evangelical  Scriptures,  and  our  Church 
in  all  her  confessions  according  to  Scripture,  answer : 
Yes.  We  freely  admit  that  no  such  method  of  salva- 
tion could  have  been  discovered  by  the  reason  of  men ; 
but  contend  that,  having  been  revealed  to  us  by  God 
himself,  the  infinitely  wise  and  holy  Sovereign,  it  is 
perfectly  consonant  with  the  highest  reason. 

1.  God  has  declared  that  the  righteousness  of  Christ, 
when  accepted  by  the  faith  of  the  sinner  as  offered  on 
his  behalf,  is  accepted  as  a  sufficient  ground  of  his  jus- 
tification ;   as  says  the  apostle  :  "  All  have  sinned,  and 
come  short  of  the  glory  of  God  ;    being  justified  freely 
by  his  grace,  through  the  redemption  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus ;  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation 
through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness 
for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past  through  the  for- 
bearance of  God ;  to  declare,  I  say,  his  righteousness ; 
that  he  might  be  just  and  the  justifier  of  him  which 
beheveth  m  Jesus."     This  puts  beyond  doubt  the  fact. 


I'f' 


lltl 


II 

I 

,  1  II 


i 


108 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


[Lect.  V. 


Lect.  v.] 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


109 


that  God  does  justify  the  believh.g  sinner  on  the 
Lund  that  a  sufficient  righteousness  has  been  offeied 
grouna  mat  ^„^u,er      We   may  not,  therefore, 

.HH   his   behalf  by  another      w        J  ^.^^^^^ 

dteny  the  propriety  of  such  an    airan, 
Imnpnrhincr  the  iustice  of  God.     liut, 

2    I    ""alo  ierfectly  consonant  with  sound  reason. 
Thedes;  n  of  Jod  in  L  denunciation  o    Pe.a   -  on 
the  breaking  of  his  law,  certainly  was  not  the  destruc 
tion  of  his  subjects,  but  to  maintain  the  d.vme  authon^y 
This  law  and  to  deter  man  from  transgression.     No>*, 
i^^^S  provision  of  a  sufficient  -bstitute^r^t  e,  sm- 
„er  three  things  can  be  secured,  God  is  just  m  receiv 
::  't  sinner'again  into  favor.     Those^^--;^-f. 
art   «.   The  honor  of  the  dmne  law.     b.    i  he  mam 
;  Lc     of  the  divine  authority,  so  that  ik>  encourage- 
ment is  given  that  sin  will  go   unpumshed.     e.  The 
Xion  of  the  transgressor,  so  that  he  returns  to 

•''l^'^'the  first:  The  honor  of  the  divine  law  ;  it  is 
„e!;ssary  that  God  should  show  his  infinUe  estimation 
necessary  ui  .^^^  submis- 

of  its  excellence,     i his  is  aone  o^  '    .     .  o,„.„.„ 

In  and  obedience  to  the  law  of  the  sufficient  Smety 
SiatTn   the   greatness    of   his    service,   the   dishonor 
wWch  we  have  done  the  law  may  be  covered   by  a 
^ntendent  glory.     And  what   greater   honor  could 
S  have  given  to  his  law  than  by  sending  forth  his 
only  wen  and  coequal  Son  to  become  m  our  nature 
ITs  faUhful  servant,  and  obey  all  its  requisitions  actual 
aid  p  nal,  on  our  behalf?     Must  not  the  spectade  of 
he  Lne  Lawgiver  himself  condescending  to  M fid 
its  demands  as  a  voluntary  servant,  yield  m  the  sight 
S  all  h^ly  creatures  a  testimony  to  its  excellence  and 
test  it  iith  a  glory  infinitely  higher  and  more  con- 


vincing  than  the  obedience  of  our  whole  race,  or  of 
myriads  of  worlds  like  ours  ? 

b.  For  the  second :  The  maintenance  of  the  divine 
authority ;  it  is  necessary  that  God  sternly  require  the 
penalties  which  we  have  incurred  to  be  fully  endured 
by  a  sufficient  Surety,  in  such  a  manner  as  will  show 
beyond  a  doubt  the  displeasure  of  God  against  sin  and 
his    determination  not  to   allow  it  to  go  unpunished. 
And  how  could  God  more  plainly  indicate  his  just  will 
that  no  sin  shall  be  tolerated  with  impunity,  and  display 
his  deep  abhorrence  of  transgression,  than  by  requiring 
the  penalties  which  we  have  incurred  to  the  uttermost 
from  his  own  beloved  Son,  when  incarnate  as  our  rep- 
resentative ?    Could  tlie  eternal  suffering  of  all  our  race, 
of  myriads  of  worlds  like  ours,  exhibit  the  divine  wrath 
against   the    sinner,    in    any    degree   approaching   the 
terrible  anguish  of  body  and  soul  which  the  innocent 
holy    Jesus    endured    under    the    displeasure    of    the 
Father  ? 

e.  For  the  third :  The  reformation  of  the  sinner  who 
IS  pardoned  on  account  of  the  substituted  righteousness, 
so  that  he  returns  to  obedience ;  it  is  necessary  that  the 
same  grace  which  pardons  should  inspire  him  with  a 
new  life,  with  desire,  and  strength  to  keep  the  law  he 
before  has  broken ;    else   the  pardon  would  be  to  let 
loose  a  rebel  unsubdued,  and  an  evil-doer  unreclaimed. 
And  how   wisely  and  certainly  has   God  secured  the 
repentance  and  sanctification  of  the  ransomed  transgres- 
sor, by  making  the  same  faith  which  admits  him  to  a 
discharge  from  condemnation  effectual,  by  the  grace  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  to  purify  his  heart,  to  work  in  him  love, 
and  to  strengthen  him  for  overcoming  the  world.     For 
Christ  saves  none  from  wrath  whom  he  does  not  save 


Hi 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


[Lkct.  V. 


Lbct.  v.] 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


Ill 


from  the  power  of  sin  ;  none  have  the  grace  of  faith 
without  the  grace  of  repentance  ;  none  have  a  part  in 
Christ  who  do  not  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  to  dwell  in 
their  souls ;  and  none  are  admitted  to  heaven  without 
being  fii'st  made  holy  and  pure.  Where  can  be  found 
such  generous  and  persuasive  arguments  to  cease  from 
sinning  and  do  the  will  of  God,  as  are  forced  upon  the 
soul  by  the  mercy  of  God  through  the  devoted  love  of 
Christ  ?  Who,  that  has  a  heart  at  all  sensitive  to 
grateful  emotion,  would  wilfully  insult  his  deliverer  that 
died  for  him  ?  How  are  we  encouraged,  notwithstand- 
ing  our  weakness,  and  the  pressure  of  temptation  from 
within  and  without,  to  attempt  the  difficult  path  of 
duty,  when  we  are  assured  that  God,  for  Christ's  sake, 
ifill  work  in  us  "  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good 
pleasure ;  "  that  all  power  is  in  the  hand  of  Christ  to 
©verrule  all  circumstances  for  the  safety  of  his  people ; 
and  that  heaven,  with  all  its  benedictions  and  felicities, 
is  before  us  as  an  eternal  recompense  for  our  brief 
ilitii,  an  exceedingly  glorious  reward  of  our  persever- 
ance in  the  footsteps  of  Christ  ? 

While  presenting  to  you  this  condensed  argument 
ibr  the  vindication  of  divine  justice  in  redeeming  the 
penitent  sinner,  we  should  be  far  from  the  thought  that 
we  have  all  the  divine  reasons  for  such  an  arrangement. 
There  are  depths  in  the  divine  purposes  which  no 
created  mind  can  fathom,  as  there  is  a  range  of  the 
divine  operations  which  no  created  mind  can  compre- 
hend. Divine  truth,  so  far  as  it  is  revealed  to  us  here 
in  our  present  state,  must  be  communicated  through 
file  medium  of  human  language,  which  has  been  framed 
(a  very  few  words  excepted)  with  reference  only  to 
things  of  this  world,  and  all  illustrations  of  the  divine 


working  must  be  taken  from  facts  of  which  we  are 
conversant.  Thus,  the  Scriptures  (and  our  Church 
according  to  the  Scriptures)  exemplify  the  juridical 
proceedings  of  our  divine  Sovereign  by  the  metliods  of 
human  jurisdiction  ;  borrowing  from  them  its  terms,  as 
debt,  penalty,  guilt,  pardon,  justification,  -  atonement, 
and  the  like ;  or,  at  the  farthest,  we  look  for  explana- 
tions to  what  we  can  discover  of  the  divine  administra- 
tion in  providence  over  this  present  economy.  But 
what  is  the  narrow  sphere  of  this  little  world,  so  petty 
a  province  considered  by  itself,  to  the  vast  empire  over 
which  our  God  sways  his  sovereignty  ?  What  is  the 
brief  time  of  the  earth's  few  ages  to  the  eternity  past 
and  future,  through  which  the  omniscient  purposes  of 
God  are  carried  on  by  the  mighty  working  of  his 
omnipresent  will  ?  What  is  the  aggregated  fortune  of 
all  our  race,  if  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  spiritual 
creation,  to  the  moral  well-being  of  the  countless 
families,  who  de{)end  on  our  God  for  all  that  consti- 
tutes the  life  of  life?  Of  what  we  can  discover 
respecting  God's  dealings  here  and  among  men,  though 
we  push  our  inquiries  to  the  utmost  limit,  we  must  say 
with  the  adoring  patriarch :  "  Lo !  these  are  parts  of 
his  ways ;  but  how  small  a  portion  is  heard  of  him  ?  " 
The  full  doctrine,  or,  if  the  expression  be  allowed,  the 
complete  theory  of  the  atonement ;  the  reasons  for  its 
methods  ;  the  extent  of  its  purposes  ;  the  variety  of  its 
results;  the  number  and  character  and  condition  of 
the  moral  beings  that  are  and  are  to  be  affected  by  its 
consequences,  can  be  understood  only  by  the  Infinite 
Author  of  the  scheme.  There  must,  after  all  our 
study  and  reasoning  out  of  the  Scripture  and  the  analo- 
gies of  providence,  remain  mysteries   in  the  plan  of 


II 


ll 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


[Lect.  V. 


salvation  utterly  above  our  reach ;  and  our  best  illus- 
trations fall  infinitely  short  of  the  vast  idea. 

Suppose,  for  example,  that  the  Allwise  Father  were 
himself  teaching  his  heavenly  servants  the  doctrine  of 
thiQ  redemption  provided  for  man,  would  he  emph)y  the 
terms  and  the  analogies  with  whicli  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  Scriptures  condescends  to  teach  us  ?  Must  we  not 
believe  that  he  would  uplift  the  attention  of  those  apt, 
long-disciplined  inl§lligences  to  great  principles  of  the 
divine  government,  but  partially  revealed  to  us  because 
we  are  capable  only  of  partially  understanding  them  ? 

We  cheerfully  and  with  devout  reverence  admit, 
nay,  would  earnestly  contend,  that  the  principles  of  the 
divine  government  on  which  the  atonement  is  based,  as 
ilis  revealed  to  us,  must  be  the  same  throughout  all  its 
extent  —  and,  especially,  that  main  principle  of  justifi- 
cation for  the  believing  penitents  of  our  human  race 
through  the  substituted  obedience  and  suffering  of  the 
Son  of  God  in  our  nature  as  our  representative  ;  but 
what  we  mean  to  assert  is,  that  that  very  principle  is 
and  can  be  only  partially,  very  partially  understood  by 
us  even  through  the  revelation  God  has  given  of  it  to 
us,  because  from  the  condition  we  are  in,  the  revelation 
must  fce  confined  within  comparatively  narrow  limits. 
UllH  the  Apostle  Paul  speaks  of  "  the  unsearchable 
nches  of  Christ,"  and  of  "  the  love  of  Christ  which 
passeth  knowledge  ;  "  and  again  with  the  same  reference 
he  exclaims  :  "  O,  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  !  how  unsearchable  are 
his  judgments  and  his  ways  past  finding  out !  " 

This  is  certain,  the  testimony  of  Scripture  being  so 
clear  as  to  allow  no  doubt,  that  the  influence  of^'the 
plan  of  redemption  extends   far  beyond   the    Church 


Lect.  V.] 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


113 


which  it  translates  from  the  depth  of  condemnation  to 
the  height  of  heavenly  glory ;  nay,  we  may  believe  that 
the  radiance  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  sheds  fresh 
magnificence  over  all  the  spiritual  universe  of  God's 
creation.     The  Apostle  Peter  declares  that  "  the  angels 
desire  to  look  into  the  things  of  redemption  ;  "  and  Paul 
that  "principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places" 
will  be  taught  and  are  now  taught  "  by  the  church 
(that  is,  by  God's  dealings  with  the  church)  the  mani- 
fold wisdom   of  God  "     Jesus  is  declared  to   be  the 
observed   "(seen)   of  angels;"   and  the    Lamb   that 
was  slain  will  be  eternally  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  ; 
the  eternal  object  of  admiration,  adoration,  and  praise 
to  all  the  angelic  hosts,  who  will  alternate  their  respon- 
sive hallelujahs  with  glorified  believers,  and  join  with 
them  in  the  unanimous,  unending  choruses  of  acclaim- 
ing homage  before  the  throne  of  God  and  his  Christ. 
What  the  effects  of  the  evangelical  scheme  on  other 
worlds  may  be,  we  know  not  and  dare  not  conjecture  ; 
but  this  we  are  certain  of,  that  it  reveals  to  all  his  holy 
creatures  who   contemplate   the  divine  character,   its 
very  highest  glory,  his  most  manifold  wisdom  and  love 
and  power.     It  is  "  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
grace  that  he  has  made  us  accepted  in  the  Beloved." 
God  has  manifested  the  glory  of  his  majestic  attri- 
butes in  many  ways,  some  of  which  we  know,  but  more 
of  which  we  cannot  understand  ;   yet  it  may  without 
irreverence  be  asserted,  that  were  it  not  for  the  shining 
of  his  glory  in  the  face  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  the 
full    beauty   and   the   most   attractive   charm   of   his 
infinite  love  would  not  be  known.     His  holy  servants 
would  forever  have  adored  his  several  excellences,  but 
could  not  have  perceived  their  admirable  harmony  as 


VOL.   I. 


if 


I    I 


;i 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


[LscT.  V. 


noif  tliey  behold  his  wisdom  devising  and  his  power 
executino-  the  wonderful  plan  of  salvation  for  the  sin- 
ner,  in  which  justice  and  goodness  combine  to  reveal 
mercy.     The  justice  of  God,  had  it  taken  its  unquali- 
fied course  in  punishing  the  sinner,  —  the  goodness  of 
God,  liad  its  bounties  been  confined  only  to  the  deserv- 
ing and  guiltless,  y- would  indeed,  have  received  and 
been  worthy  of  all  praise  from  all  holy  creatures.    Still 
those  most  glorious  attributes  are  naturally  essential  to 
the  divine  Sovereign  ;  we  could  not  imagine  the  Holy 
Father  of  intelligent  creatures  otherwise  than  just  and 
good.     The  exercise  of  those  divine  qualities  is  neces- 
sary to  the  idea  of  God  ;  but  that  they  could  meet  in 
blessing  on  the  souls  of  guilty  sinners,  no  created  mind 
could  ever  have  conjectured  or  believed  to  be  possible 
iad  not  God  made  it  manifest.     His  mercy  surprises 
and  startles   the    moral   universe   with    a   mild    and 
exquisite  glory,  transcending  all  other  emanations  from 
the  light  unapproachable  in  which  the  mystery  of  his 
being  dwells.     It  is  brighter  than  justice,  softer  than 
goodness ;  for  it  is  justice  and  goodness  blending  their 
beams  in  mercy,  —  Im  choice,  his  delight,  the  good 
pleasure  of  his  sovereign  will. 

Now,  dear  hearers,  let  us  learn  and  carry  away  with 
us  the  practical  inferences,  from  the  doctrine  thus  far 
developed. 

First:    Our  utter  helplessness  under  our  deserved 

condemnation. 

God  will  have  his  justice  satisfied.  Who  of  us  can 
escape  from  his  hands,  or  bear  the  fiery  vengeance  of 
his  curse  ?  O,  vain  and  impious  is  the  expectation  of 
the  sinner  from  the  goodness  or  pity  of  God,  while  his 


Later,  v.] 


NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


115 


justice  with  flaming  sword  stands  between  to  execute 
the  sentence  of  the  law. 

Secondly:  Our  certain  salvation,  if,  with  penitent 
hearts,  we  accept  of  the  suretyship  of  Christ. 

It  is  the  method  God  has  provided,  because  he 
delights  to  save.  It  is  the  method  which  magnifies  his 
justice  infinitely  more  than  our  eternal  death.  It  is 
the  method  by  which  we  may  be  transformed  from  deep 
corruption  into  holy  servants  of  his  will  forever. 

Thirdly  :  Our  gracious  obligation  to  spread  the 
knowledge  of  this  mercy  among  our  fellow-sinners,  for 
their  immortal  good ;  the  joy  of  angels  ;  our  own  re- 
ward, and  the  glory  of  God  our  Saviour. 


I 


1^ 


! 


I',    w 


\ 


LECTURE  VI. 


QUALITIES  OF  TIE  MEDIATOR. 


\tl 


t 


SIXTH  LORD'S  DAY. 


QUALITIES    OF   THE   MEDIATOR. 


Quest.  XVI.     Why  must  he  be  very  man,  and  yet  perfectly  righteous  t 

Ans.  Because  the  justice  of  God  requires  that  the  same  nature  which  hath 
sinned,  should  likewise  make  satisfaction  for  sin ;  and  one  who  is  him- 
self a  sinner  cannot  satisfy  for  others. 

Quest.  XVII.     Why  must  he  in  one  person  be  also  very  Godf 

Aks.  That  he  might  by  the  power  of  his  Godhead,  sustain  in  his  human 
nature,  the  burden  of  God's  wrath ;  and  miyht  obtain  for,  and  restore 
to  us  righteousness  and  life. 

Quest.  XVIII.  Who  is,  then,  that  Mediatoj;  who  is  in  one  person  both  very 
God  and  real  righteous  man  ? 

Ans.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  wisdom  and 
righteousness,  and  sanctitication  and  redemption. 

Quest.  XIX.     Whence  knowest  thou  this  t 

Ans.  From  the  holy  Gospel  which  God  himself  revealed  first  in  Paradise, 
and  afterwards  published  by  the  patriarchs  and  prophets,  and  was 
pleased  to  represent  it  by  the  shadows  of  sacrifices  and  the  other 
shadows  of  the  law  ;  and,  lastly,  has  accomplished  it  by  his  only 
begotten  Son. 

'PHE  lesson  for  the  Fifth  Lord's  Day  set  forth  in  the 
-*-  t2th  Question  and  janswer  :  The  necessity  of  a 
satisfaction  being  made  for  our  sins  in  order  to  our  sal- 
vation ;  in  the  13th  :  Our  utter  inability  to  make  such 
satisfaction  for  ourselves  ;  and  in  the  14th :  The  in- 
sufficiency of  any  mere  creature  to  make  satisfaction 
for  us ;  which  led  to  the  15th  Question  :  What  sort  of 
Mediator  and  Deliverer  must  we  then  seek  for  ?  The 
answer  given  to  which,  is :  "  For  one  who  is  very  man, 
and  perfectly  righteous ;  and  yet  more  powerful  than 
all  creatures,  that  is,  one  who  is  also  very  God." 

But  those  who  were  attentive  to  our  lecture  on  the 
Fifth  Lord's  Day  will  remember  the  statement,  —  that 


120 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  [T.kct.  VI. 


the  doctrine  of  the  Mediator  between  God  and  man, 
which  is  opened  in  the  14th  and  15th  questions  and 
answers,  is  more  thoroughly  discussed  throughout  those 
for  the  Sixth  Lord's  Day  ;  and  that,  therefore,  for 
greater  convenience,  it  was  proposed  to  consider  the 
whole  subject  under  four  heads  :  — 

First  :  The  impomhility  of  our  salvation  by  our  own 

works. 

Secondly:  The  possibility  of  our  salvation  by  or 
through  the  righteousness  of  a  sufficient  substitute. 

Thirdly  :  The  qualities  necessary  to  a  sufficient  sub- 
stitute or  mediator  for  us  with  God. 

Fourthly  :  The  provision  of  such  a  substitute  or 
mediator  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  we  learn  from  the 
Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

The  first  two  of  these  heads  were  then  discussed  at 
considerable  length,  leaving  the  third  and  fourth  for 
discussion  to-day ;  which,  imploring  divine  help,  we 
shall  now  pursue. 

Thirdly  :  The  qualities  necessary  to  a  sufficient  sub- 
stitute or  mediator  for  us  with  God. 

The  answer  to  the  14th  Question  denies  that  he  may 
lit  "  a  mece  creature,"  because,  "  first :  God  will  not 
punish  any  other  creature  for  the  sin  which  man  has 
committed  ;  and,  further,  no  mere  creature  can  sustain 
the  burden  of  God's  eternal  wrath  against  sin,  so  as  to 
deliver  others  from  it."  The  answer  to  the  15th  Ques- 
tion asserts  that  "our  Mediator  and  Deliverer"  must 
be  :  '•'  One  who  is  very  man,  and  yet  perfectly  righteous, 
and  yet  more  powerful  than  all  creatures,  that  is,  one 
who  is,  also,  very  God." 

He  must  be  "very  man,  and  yet  perfectly  right- 
eous," says  the  answer  to  the  16th  Question :  "  Because 


Lect.  VI.]  qualities  OF  THE  MEDIATOR. 


121 


the  justice  of  God  requires,  that  the  same  nature  which 
hath  sinned  should  likewise  (i.  e.  also)  make  satisfac- 
tion for  sin ;  and  one  who  is  himself  a  sinner  cannot 
satisfy  for  others."  He  "  must  also  in  one  person  be 
very  God,"  says  the  answer  to  the  17th  Question : 
"  That  he  might,  by  the  power  of  his  Godhead,  sus- 
tain in  his  human  nature  the  burden  of  God's  wrath ; 
and  might  obtain  for  and  restore  to  us  righteousness 
and  life." 

This  instruction  of  the  Catechism  is  so  full  and  clear 
as  to  render  any  prolonged  commentary  of  ours  need- 
less ;  yet  some  more  specific  explanations  may  not  be 
without  use  ;  and  they  will  be  given  under  two  propo- 
sitions :  — 

I.  The  Substitute  and  Mediator  must  be  "  very  (or 
truly)  man,  and  perfectly  righteous.'* 

II.  He  must  "  also  be  very  God  in  one  person  "  with 
his  human  nature. 

I.  He  must  be  "  very  man,  and  perfectly  righteous.'* 

1.  No  other  mere  creature  can  be  accepted  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  man. 

A.  "  God  will  not  punish  any  other  creature  for  the 
sin  which  man  has  committed." 

a.  God  would  not  compel  any  other  creature  to  suf- 
fer for  man's  sin.  If  that  creature  be  himself  a  sinner, 
he  must  suffer  the  punishment  of  his  own  sin,  which  he 
can  never  sufficiently  expiate ;  and,  therefore,  no  suf- 
ferings of  his  can  be  put  to  the  credit  of  the  sinner  of 
another  nature.  There  are  various  ranks  of  spiritual 
creatures,  and  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  among 
the  angels  who  have  fallen  there  are  some  of  very  high 
rank  originally  ;  but  according  to  their  original  height 
has  been  the  depth  of  their  fall ;  according  to  the  emi- 


\     \ 


SSp' 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR.         [Lect.  VI. 


nence  of  their  duties  has  been  the  guilt  of  their  rebellion. 
They  suffer  for  themselves ;  they  cannot  be  made  to 
suffer  more  than  they  deserve ;  nor,  if  that  were  possi- 
ble, would  the  infliction  of  any  additional  sufferings  on 
them  for  man's  sake  be  just  to  them,  or  give  any  honor 
to  the  law  which  man  has  broken.  Neither,  if  the 
other  creature  be  innocent,  would  it  be  just  to  impose 
upon  him  sufferings  which  he  does  not  deserve,  that 
man  might  be  relieved  from  sufferings  which  he  do^ 
deserve.  The  authority  of  God  could  never  be  vindi- 
cated by  such  treatment  of  a  creature  who  is  entitled  to 
reward  for  his  obedience* 

5.  Nor,  again,  may  such  a  creature,  however  highly 
exalted,  voluntarily  assume  the  place  of  man,  either  to 
endure  man's  punishment  for  the  sins  he  has  committed, 
or  to  perform  the  duties  which  he  has  omitted,  both 
being  necessary  to   the   satisfaction    demanded.      For 
every  creature^  from  the  fact  of  his  creation,  is  a  ser- 
liant  of  God,  bound  to  use  all  his  faculties  with  the 
utmost  energy  of  which  he  is  capable  in  the  sphere 
where  God  has  placed  him,  and  can  never  do  more 
than  his  duty.      To  take  man's   place,  therefore,  he 
must  desert  his  own  ;  to  endure  man's  punishment,  to 
perform  man's  duties,  he  must  use  faculties  and  time 
which  already  belong  to  God.     The  just  authority  of 
God  would  be  aggrieved,  not  honored,  by  the  disobe- 
dience of  an  angel  to  the  law  under  which  he  is  placed, 
tliat  he  might  ohey  the  law  under  which  man  is  placed. 
A  creature  of  God  cannot  change  his  sphere  of  duty 
any  more  than  he  can  change  his  nature,  for  they  are 
.  by  the  divine  appointment  necessarily  relative  to  each 
other,  not  matters  of  the  creature's  choice,  but  abso- 
lutely of  the  divine  will. 


Lect.  VI.] 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR. 


123 


B.  "  Further :  no  mere  creature  can  sustain  the 
burden  of  God's  wrath  against  sin  so  as  to  deliver  oth- 
ers from  it." 

Even  if  it  were  possible  that  another  mere  creature, 
however  holy  and  exalted,  could  take  our  place,  no 
amount  of  suffering  on  his  part  would  be  sufficient  to 
make  up  for  the  sufferings  we  need  to  be  released  from. 

a.  The  punishment  appointed  to  the  sinner  is  ever- 
lasting, because  he  can  never,  by  any  sufferings  he  is 
capable  of,  exhaust  the  penalty.  Yet  the  distance  m 
dignity  between  any  other  creature  and  man  is,  of 
necessity,  limited;  how,  then,  can  our  punishment, 
which  is  unlimited,  be  substituted  by  any  sufferings  of 
his  short  of  eternal  ?  The  substitution,  if  undertaken, 
can  never  be  accomplished. 

b.  Besides :  the  sinners  to  be  redeemed  are  a-  great 
multitude,  whom  no  man  can  number,  and  the  substi- 
tute would  have  to  bear  in  his  single  person  the  aggre- 
gate responsibility  of  them  all ;  if,  then,  the  punishntent 
of  one  sinner  be  so  heavy  that  he  cannot  exhaust  it,  but 
must  suffer  on  forever,  what  mere  creature  could 
endure  the  imputed  sufferings  of  the  whole  Church  ? 
A  proper  idea  of  the  atonement  will  not  tolerate  for  an 
instant  the  substitution  of  a  mere  creature  to  satisfy  the 
wrath  of  God  which  we  deserve. 

2.  The  character  of  our  responsibility  is  such  that  it 
cannot  be  assumed  except  by  one  in  human  nature,  yet 
himself  guiltless. 

A.  ''  The  justice  of  God  requires  that  the  same  hu- 
man nature  which  hath  sinned,  should  likewise  make 
satisfaction  for  sin."  (16th  Ans.) 

Even  were  another  creature  found  capable  of  endur- 
ing the  weight  of  our  punishment,  the  circumstances  of 


I 


124 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  ILect.  VI. 


our  sin  are  sucb  Aat  he  could  not  assume  its  guilt  or 
render  a  satisfactory  obedience  on  our  behalf;  for  — 

a.  The  law  which  has  been  outraged  was  given  to 
man,  was  adapted  to  his  nature,  and  ordered  for  his 
sphere  of  service.     Righteousness,  it  is  true,  must  be 
ever  and  everywhere  the  same  in  its  essential  qualities. 
The  same  great  principles  of  right  must  rule  over  all  * 
the  subjects  of  God  ;  yet,  as  the  natures  of  those  subjects 
are  various,  and  different  theatres  of  action  are  assigned 
to  their  different  natures,  it  follows,  that  the  manner  in 
which  the  obedience  is  to  be  rendered  must  be  peculiar 
to  each  class.     The  service  demanded  of  a  pure  spirit, 
which  has  been  created  to  live  without  a  body,  must  be 
different  from  that  demanded  of  a  spirit  created  to  live 
in  a  body ;   for  example,  the  service  of  angelic  spirit 
from  that  of  a  human  being.     Take  the  ten  precepts 
of  the  law  given  to  man,  and  you  see  that  there  are 
human  duties  which  a  holy  angel  cannot  perform,  as 
there  are  offences  which  a  wicked  angel  cannot  commit. 
Even  one  class  of  angels  or  unembodied  spirits  may 
have  duties  assigned  them  for  which  they  are  fitted, 
differing  from  those  for  which  other  classes  of  angels 
are  fitted,  each  class. being  under  its  peculiar  law,  v/ith- 
in  its  peculiar  sphere,  beyond  which  it  cannot  go.    How 
much  less  can  an  angel,  or  unembodied  spirit,  come 
under  the  peculiar    obligations   of  man?      The   law, 
given  to  man  for  his  obedience  on  earth,  can  be  obeyed 
or    satisfied   only    by  human   nature  on  earth,  or  in 
man's  proper  sphere.     That  law,  imposed  by  the  Cre- 
ator on  human  nature,  to  be  obeyed  in  his  body  on 
earth,  man  has  broken  ;  and  the  'earth  is  full  of  his  re- 
bellion.    Whatever  laws,  therefore,  are  obeyed,  if  the 
law  given  to  man  remain  dishonored,  the  government 


Lect.  VI.]  QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  l^ 

of  God  is  shaken.    Whatever  classes  of  his  moral  creat- 
ures are  faithful,  if  man  be  a  successful,  unpunished 
smner,  the  justice  of  God  is  uncertain.    Whatever  prov- 
inces of  his  empire  are  loyal  and  tributary,  if  in  this 
worid  his  authority  be  not  vindicated,  it  ceases  to  be 
sovereign.     Whatever  decrees  of  his  will  are  fulfilled 
If  the  sentence  against  sinful  man  be  not  executed,  his 
truth  has  failed.     The  satisfaction  necessary  for  our 
safety  must,  therefore,  we  repeat,  be  made  to  the  law 
appointed  for  us,  in  our  nature  and  upon  our  earth. 
So  we  read  that:  "  God  sent  forth  his  Son,  made  of  a 
woman,  made   under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that 
were  under  the  law." 

h.  The  penalties  denounced  against  sin  are  of  such  a 
nature  that  none  but  man  can  endure  them  so  as  to  free 
us  from  guilt.     The  sentence  pronounced  on  man  is 
death,  — death  of  body,  and  death  of  soul,  —  which  we 
know  includes  all  the  sicknesses,  pains,  and  corruption 
of  the  body,  with  all  the  sorrow,  anguish,  and  degrada- 
tion of  spirit  which  is  occasioned  by  the  withdrawal  of 
God  s  favor  and  the  weight  of  his  wrath.     This  death 
of  our  entire  human  nature,  temporal  and  eternal,  is 
the  punishment  we  deserve  and  must  suffer,  except  we 
be  dehvered  from  it  by  a  sufficient  satisfaction  rendered 
for  us.     None  but  man  can  know  and  feel  the  sorrows 
and  agony  of  man  in  body  and  soul ;  none  but  man  can 
sutter  the  pains  and  distresses  of  our  mortal  life,  or 
our  eternal  death,  the  death  "passed  upon  all  men 
because  that  all  have  sinned."     So  we  read  of  our 
Redeemer:  "  Forasmuch,  then,  as  the  children  are  par- 
takers of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself  took  part  of 
the  same,  that  through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that 
had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  and  deliver 


i.;! 


In  I 


I 


126  QUAUTIE8  OF  THE  MEDUTOK.  [I.""-  V«- 

ihem  wlio  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime 
them,  wno jnro  g  ^^  ,^^^  ^j^^ 

BiiViect  to  bondage.   Jjoi,  veniy,  "c  i  ,    r  4v„„ 

'tiTe  of  angels,  but  he  took  on  him  the  seed  of  Aba- 
IT  Wherefore  in  all  things  it  behooved  hmi  to  be 
Ze  ZZZ  his  brethren,  that  he  might  be  a  mer^ 
S  and  faithfol  high-priest  in  things  pe.tammg  to 
God  to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  h.s  people^ 

Thlre  «e  other  and  most  important  reasons  why  the 
Jdtr  should  be  very  man,  which  we  may  not  now 
«Uer  upon,  but  hope  to  consider  ^^y^^^^^^^l^ 
brought  before  us  by  subsequent  sections  of  the  ^a 
«hism      Yet  we  may  ask :  How  may  sinful  man/»^'« 
tp  oach  unto  God;   how  may  he  know  that  God  wdl 
SHwell  with  men  ;  that  his  fallen  "ature  may  ag^a 
St  the  felicity  of  his  presence  and  the  l.gh    of  his 
Sunless  he  saw  one  made  in  the  likeness  of  h.s  own 
Ifd  flesh  holding    intimate   communion  w.  h  G^, 
dorious  himself  from  communications  of  the   divine 
£;,  and  standing  before  us  as  the  medium  through 
^hom  we  may  look  upon  God  and  -t  die  -un  e. 
God  be  again  with  man  on  earth,  as  ^^  J-/"- 
Paradise,  speaking  to  man  as  to  his  dear  child? 

B   The  Mediator  in  our  human  nature  must  be     per 
fecdy  rileous,"  because  "one  who  is  himself  a  sinner 
Sot  sitisfy  for  others."   This  point  is  so  o^^J^^^^ 
that  no  arcmment  of  ours  is  needed  to  make  it  clearer , 
Z  hi    stated  so  distinctly  to  prepare  us  forfai  h  m 
,  wl  who  has  been  constituted  by  God  as  «-  Med-^; 
.„d  Substitute.     The  perfect  righteousness  of  the  man 
tho  is  our  surety  must  be  twofold;  innocence  and  ao- 

tive  obedience.  ^« ,     i    j 

a.  Innocence.- ne  must  be  without  sin.     If  he  had 

committed  sin,  his  own  guilt  would  be  upon  him  ;  and 


Lect.  VI.]         QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR. 


127 


he  would  be  rejected  by  God  in  his  own  peraon,  much 
more  as  a  mediator  for  his  fellow-sinners.  So  we  read 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  that  "  he  did  no  sin,  neither 
was  guile  found  in  his  mouth." 

b.  Active  Obedience.  —  The  satisfaction  for  us  required 
by  God,  is  not  merely  a  sufficient  suffering  in  room  of 
that  which  we  deserve  on  account  of  our  transgression, 
but  an  honoring  of  the  law  by  an  active  obedience  suf- 
ficient to  be  substituted  in  room  of  that  which  we  are 
bound  to  render,  and  wdiich  is  necessary,  according  to 
the  divine  justice,  for  our  re-admission  within  the  divine 
favor,  vouchsafed  only  to  those  who  are  righteous  in 
his  sight.  Such  positive,  energetic  righteousness,  no 
sinner,  whose  faculties  have  been  depraved  by  the  cor- 
ruption of  human  nature  consequent  upon  the  fall,  can 
render.  "  He  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew 
no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God 
in  him." 

The  inference  from  this  is,  that  the  mediator  or  sub- 
stitute we  need  must  be  man,  partaker  of  all  other 
human  characteristics,  but  not  of  sin  ;   and,  therefore, 
as  all  our  race  are  fallen  in  Adam,  guilty  of  overt,  per- 
sonal sins,  and  utterly  without  moral  strength  to  honor 
God  by  keeping  his  law,  the  mediator  or  substitute  for 
us  in  human  nature,  must  be  man  after  some  extraor- 
dinary method  which  excepts  him  from  the  otherwise 
universal  entailment  of  guilt  and  corruption,  while  he 
inherits  all  our  weaknesses  which  are  not  sinful.     Our 
guilt  and  corruption  are  derived  from  Adam  in  the  same 
manner  that  our  being  is  derived  from  him ;  "  Adam 
begat  his  '  children  '  in  his  own  likeness ;  "  we  are  "  con- 
ceived in  sin  and  brought  forth  in  iniquity ;  "  that  can- 
not be  human  nature,  which  is  not  born  of  woman; 


i 


n 


128  QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  [Lkct-  VI. 

that  cannot  be  sinless  human  nature  which  is  begotten 
by  man ;  hence,  our  surety  in  human  nature  must  be 
conceived  from  some  "  extraordinary  generation,"  con- 
ceived without  sin,  brought  forth  without  iniquity,  yet, 
because  his  flesh  and  blood  are  derived  from  woman, 
having   the   physical  weaknesses   of  humanity,  being 
subject  to  all   those   infirmities,  but  without  sin.     So 
we   read    of   our    Lord's    miraculous    conception,    in 
the   words   of  the  angel  to  the   Virgin    Mary  (Let 
"all   generations   call   her   blessed  I")      "The  Holy 
Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the 
Highest  shall  overshadow  thee  ;  therefore  also  that  holy 
thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the 
Son  of  God."    The  germ  of  the  body  was  in  the  woman, 
and  in  her  womb  it  grew  till  its  birth,  and  from  her 
bosom  was  it  nourished  after  its  birth,  but  the  impreg- 
nating power  was  of  God,  and,  therefore,  was  the  flesh 
and  blood  of  the  "child  wonderful"  holy  ;  of  the  seed 
of  Adam,  Abraham,  Judah,  and  David,  through  his 
mother,  but  sanctified  in  the  first  beginning  of  his  hu- 
man nature  by  the  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

II.  Our  Mediator  and  Substitute  "  must  also  be  very 
God  in  one  person  "  with  his  human  nature. 

For  this  tmo  leasons  are  given  by  the  Catechism 

(17th  Ans.) 

"  That  he  might  by  the  power  of  his  Godhead  susr- 
tain  in  his  human  nature  the  burden  of  God's  wrath  ; " 

and 

"  Mi<^ht  obtain  for  and  restore  us  to  righteousness 

and  life." 

1.  "  That  he  might,  by  the  power  of  his  Godhead, 
sustain  in  his  human  nature  the  burden  of  God's 
wrath." 


Lect.  VI.] 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR. 


129 


A.  Because  the  burden  of  God's  wrath  is  too  great 
for  human  nature,  unsupported,  to  endure. 

It  is  the  wrath  of  God  against  the  sinner.  The 
sentence  denounced  against  the  sinner  is  death,  which 
we  have  seen  to  be  the  utter  withdrawal  of  the  divine 
favor  and  the  actual  infliction  of  his  vengeance.  The 
moment  that  this  sentence  comes  upon  the  sinner  in  its 
full  execution,  he  must  be  crushed  —  he  must  die. 
There  can  be  in  him  no  \itdl  energy  left,  no  recupera- 
tive force  —  the  weight  presses  him  down  forever. 
The  substitute  must  be  man,  because  it  is  the  penalty 
of  the  law  given  to  man.  But  if  he  were  mere  man, 
though  himself  righteous,  the  weight  of  the  imputed 
guilt  of  a  single  sinner  would  crush  him  in  death  for- 
ever. He  could  never  react  from  under  it ;  his  power 
would  be  lost;  he  would  be  dead.  Nor  could  the 
strength  of  any  creature  avail  for  his  help  in  so  extreme 
an  emergency.  How,  then,  shall  the  one  mediator  be 
enabled  to  sustain  the  otherwise  intolerable  burden? 
All  the  wit  of  men  and  angels  could  never  resolve  the 
difficulty  ;  we  must  go  for  our  answer  to  the  revelation 
of  the  Gospel.  "  God  "  is  there  "  manifest  in  the 
flesh."  Man  still  stands  forth  the  substitute  of  man, 
to  receive  upon  his  head  the  terrible  curse ;  one  person 
is  still  to  meet  it  alone ;  but  that  Person  is  not  merely 
man  ;  by  an  ineffable  mystery,  the  coequal  Son  of  God 
assumes  that  humanity  to  himself,  so  that  the  Son  of 
God  and  the  son  of  the  woman,  very  God  and  \ery 
man,  their  natures  still  distinct,  yet  in  their  distinctness 
united,  constitute  one  Person,  the  Substitute  of  the  sin- 
ner. The  Son  of  God  thus  makes  the  human  nature 
of  the  Son  of  man  his  own.  The  wrath  divine  comes 
not  on  the  Son  of  God,  for  divinity  can  in  no  sense  suf- 


VOL.  1. 


I 


QUALITIES  01  THE  MEDIATOR.  [Lkct.  VI. 

|br  or  be  put  to  shame ;  it  falls  on  the  human  nature 
alone,  because  the  justice  of  God   requires   that   the 
nature,  which  has  sinned,  should  bear  the  penalty  ot 
the  sin  ;  hut  the  divinity  in  the  person  of  the  mediator 
sustains  by  its  almightiness  the  humanity  m  the  pei^on 
of  the  mediator  to  bear  up  under  the  curse,  and,  while 
folly  satisfying  the  wrath  of  God,  yet  to  retani  a  vita 
energy   sufficient   for  its  recovery  from  the   imputed 
death.     The  human  nature  alone  endures,  but  endures 
by  the  strength  of  the  divine,  to  which  it  is  personally 
associated.     Thus,  the  apostle  speaks  of  the  "Church 
of  God  which  he  hath  redeemed  by  his  own  blood ; 
i  e  by  the  blood  of  the  human  nature  which  through 
his  incarnation  he  made  "  his  own."     "  God  sent  forth 
his   Son"   (elsewhere   called   his  only  begotten   Son, 
therefore  Divine,  as  the  begotten  is  of  the  nature  of 
llie  begetter)  —  his  Son  must  have  existed  before  he 
sent  him  forth  — sent  forth  his  preexistent  Son  "made 
ti  a  woman,"  that  is,  united  to  the  Son  of  man  as  the 
Saviour  of  sinners.     So  again,  we  read,  that  Christ 
Jesus,  "  being  in  the  form  of  God  (i.  e.  exuting  as 
GocT)  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God  ;  but 
made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the 
form  of  a  servant  and'was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men ; 
Und,  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  him- 
self and  became  obedient  to  (until)  death,  even  the 
death  of  the  cross."     Great  as  must  have  been   the 
wrath  of  God  which  came  on  the  human  nature  of  our 
Substitute,  the  strength  of  God  could  enable  that  hu- 
pan  nature  to  bear  it. 
"       B.  Because  the  merit  of  no  suffering  endured  by  a 
|nere  man  would  be  sufficient  for  the  redemption  of  the 
Church,  saved  through  the  Mediator. 


Lect.  VL]  qualities  OF  THE  MEDIATOR. 


131 


If  the  wrath  of  God  against  a  single  sinner  be  so 
intolerable,  how  could  a  single  man,  as  their  substitute, 
sustain  the  wrath  due  to  such  a  multitude  ? 

A  ready  answer  is,  that  the  divine  strength  of  the 
Immanuel  could  uphold  his  human  nature  under  any 
degree  of  penal  suffering ;  but  the  reply  goes  not  far 
enough,  for  it  will  be  asked  again,  Upon  what  principle 
of  justice  can  one  man  be  accepted  in  the  room   of 
many  ?     If  he  be  a  mere  man,  how  can  the  divine  law 
be  magnified  by  his  suffering,  let  him  suffer  never  so 
much,  so  that  many  sinners  may  escape  by  his  substitu- 
tion ?     It  is  obvious  that  w^here  one  stands  forth  as  a 
substitute  for  very  many,  he  cannot  be  accepted  unless 
he  has   in   his  single  person  a  dignity,  or   worth,  far 
excelling  that  of  a  private  individual  man,  and  com- 
mensurate  to   the   vast    representativeness    which   he 
would  assume.     It  is  true,  that  by  one  man,  Adam,* 
condemnation  to  death  came  on  our  whole  race ;  but 
Adam  acted  not  merely  as  a  private  individual;  nor 
became  he  man  by  ordinary  generation  ;  he  was  created 
immediately  by  God,  so   that  the   sacred   genealogist 
hesitates  not  to  call  him  "  the  Son  of  God "  ("Enos, 
which  was   the  son  of  Seth,  which  w^as  the  son  of 
Adam,  which  was  the   son  of  God,"  Luke  iii.  38)  ; 
and,  deriving  his  nature  in  this  extraordinary  way,  he 
was  constituted  in  the  dignity  of  head  of  his  race.     He 
could  justly  represent  all  human    nature,  because  all 
human  nature  was  in  him.     All  his  descendants   fell 
with  him  ;  all  are  under  the  condemnation  which  he 
brought  upon  them :   where,  then,  among  those  guilty 
descendants  can  one  be  found  of  competent  worth  to 
take  the  place  of  a  second  Adam,  the  headship  of  a 
new  race,  the  Redeemer  of  sinful  men  who  are  repre-i 


it 

J 


1  !.;•    *     '" 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR.        [Lect.  VI. 


gente3  hylm  sufferings  expiatory  of  their  offences  ?     It 
IS  obvious,  again,  that  the  Second  Adam,  like  tlie  first, 
must  be  the  Son  of  God,  of  sufficient  dignity  to  be 
constituted,  and  actually  constituted  by  God,  Head  or 
Representative  of  all  who  are  to  be  redeemed  through 
him.     There  must  also  be  such  a  worth,  or  legal  value, 
in  his  sufferings,  as  fully  to  vindicate  the  justice  of 
God  in  accepting  them  on  behalf  of  the  sinners  saved. 
But  we  have  seen  from  our  previous  reasoning  that  no 
mere  creature  could  be  accepted  to  bear,  or  could  bear, 
if  accepted,  the  sufferings  due  to  us.     How,  then,  shall 
this  difficulty  in  the  way  of  a  just  mercy  be  met  ?    (O 
the  matchless  wisdom  of  divine   love!)      The   Only 
Begotten,  eternal  Son  of  God  himself,  becomes  incar- 
imle  as  our  Elder  Brother  ;  he  assumes  to  himself,  out 
of  a  woman's  flesh  and  blood,  a  perfect  human  nature, 
begotten  by  the   Holy  Ghost,  and  by  thus  uniting  it 
with  his  own  divinity  in  one  person,  not  only  sustains 
the  humanity  under  all  the  suffering  of  imputed  guilt, 
but  presents  a  surety  of  infinitely  sufficient  worth  to 
represent  all  the  redeemed.    Therefore,  was  "  laid  upon 
him  the  iniquity  of  us  all ; "  therefore,  did  it  please 
the  Father  to  bruise  him,  and  put  him  to  grief;  there- 
fore, did  he  forever  "  put  away  sin  by  the  one  sacrifice 
of  himself,"  and  by  that  "  one  offering  perfect  forever 
them  that  are  sanctified."     Our  sufferings  on  account 
of  sin  would  have  been  everlasting,  because  no  suffer- 
ings of  ours  could  ever  have  satisfied  the  penalty  due 
to  the  sinner;  but  such  is  the  incalculable  merit  of 
dxr  Surety's  sufferings  for  us,  that  in  a  portion  of  three 
days,  the  law  was  fully  vindicated,   and   the  whole 
Church  absolved.     Adam  was  made  in  the  likeness  of 
God,  so  far  as  a  creature  could  reflect  the  likeness  of 


IxcT.  VI.]  QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR. 


133 


the  Creator,  yet  was  he  sustained  only  by  a  creature's 
strength,  and  he  fell ;  but  in  our  Second^  Adam  dwelt 
"the  Lord  from  heaven,"  the  Son  of  God  himself;  the 
first  Adam  was  made  "  a  living  soul ; "  the  Second 
Adam  is  a  quickening  Spirit,  for  in  him  is  not  only  a 
life  derived,  but  he  is  the  Life-giver.  Therefore  did  he, 
*'  through  death,  destroy  him  that  hath  the  power  of 
death,"  and  become  the  Author  of  eternal  salvation 
unto  all  them  that  obev  him." 

2.  Our  Mediator  must  also  be  «  very  God  in  one  peiv 
son  with  his  human  nature,"  that  "  he  might  obtain  for 
and  restore  to  us  righteousness  and  life." 

Here  are  two  offices  of  the  Mediator  for  which  his 
Divinity  is  necessary  :  — 

The  obtaining  for  us  righteousness  and  life ;  and  the 
restoring  of  righteousness  and  life  to  us. 

A.  The  obtaining  for  us  righteousness  and  life. 

It  is  the  part  of  the  Mediator  to  act  for  us  with  God, 
and,  therefore,  is  it  requisite  not  only  that  a  sufficient 
satisfaction  be  made  to  the  law  under  which  we  arq 
condemned,  but  that  such  satisfaction  be  duly  presented 
and  pleaded  before  God  ;  and  our  justification,  with  its 
consequence,  our  readmission  to  the  divine  favor,  ao- 
knowledged  and  secured.     This  justification  and  divine 
favor  are  meant  by  the  terms  "  righteousness  and  life," 
used  by  the  Catechism  ;  for,  according  to  thfe  method 
of  grace,  the  sinner  who  believes  is  not  personally,  that 
is,  through  his  own   merit,  righteous,  but  considered 
and  treated  as  righteous  or  justified  solely  on  account 
of  the  satisfaction  rendered  to  the  law  for  him  by  his 
substitute;  and  the  favor  of  God,  which  is  life,  goes 
out  to   him   again   only  through  his  substitute,  with 
whom,  as  the  atoning  representative  of  the  sinner,  God 


1 


f 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  VL 

h  well  pleased.     Is  it  not,  then,  clear  that  only  he, 
iwho  could  make  the  satisfaction,  can  plead  its  merit 
before  God  and   claim  its  reward?     Who  less   than 
divine   can   thus   speak  with  God?     Who   less   than 
-divine  can  take  into  his  grasp  such  great  blessing  as 
life  for  all  the  host  of  the  redeemed  ?     If  nothing  less 
than  divine  strength  could  sustain  the  humanity  of  our 
surety  under  the  wrath  due  to  his  people,  an  equal 
capacity  is  needed  to  contain  the  immensity  of  favor 
^vouchsafed  by  the  love  of  the  reconciled  Father  to  all 
his  ransomed  family.     So  reasons  the  Apostle  of  our 
glorious  Mediator :  "  For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in 
liim  should  all  fulness  dwell  ;  and  having  made  peace 
through  the  blood  of  his  cross,  by  him  to  reconcile  all 
things  unto  himself;  "  and  again  :  "  For  in  him  dwell- 
eth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.    And  ye  (all 
believers)  are  complete  in  him,  which  is  the  head  of  all 
principality  and  power."    And  in  the  same  strain,  John 
the  Baptist  testified  of  our  Lord :    "  Of  his  fulness 
have  all  we  received  and  grace  for  grace."     All  the 
grace  we  need  we  receive  of  Christ ;  therefore  all  ful- 
ness dwells  in  Christ,  and  that  he  might  contain  all 
this  fulness,  in  him  dwells  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead. 
It  was  necessary  that  the  divine  nature  should  sustain 
the  humanity  of  the  substitute,  in  the  work  of  attme- 
ment ;  so'  it  is  necessary  that  after  the  merit  of  the 
work  is  provided,  the  divine  nature  should  qualify  the 
Mediator  to  obtain  and  receive  by  his  intercession  eter- 
nal redemption  for  us. 

B.  The  restoring  of  righteousness  and  life  to  us. 
It  is  the  part  of  the  Mediator  to  act  for  God  with  us  ; 
fterefore  is  it  requisite  that  not  only  the  justification 
of  the  sinner,  and  the  consequent  life  be  obtained  for 


Lect.  VI.]  QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR. 


135 


us,  but,  also,  that  those  benefits  be  actually  conferred, 
and  we  restored  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  we  have  lost 
through  sin.  Who  less  than  God  can  accomplish  this 
in  us  ?  Wlio  can  justify  where  God  has  condemned, 
but  God  himself?  Who  can  give  life  back,  but  the 
Lord  of  life  ?  Who  less  than  God  can  visit  the  hearts 
of  all  the  Church,  and  by  the  Holy  Spirit  incline  them 
all  to  receive  by  faith  the  pardon  God  extends,  and 
strengthen  them  all  for  the  new  obedience  which  God 
requires  ?  If  our  Mediator  be  not  divine,  how  can  he 
be  omnipresent  to  hear  every  prayer  of  each  one  of  all 
his  people  ;  omniscient,  to  know  their  every  thought 
and  every  need ;  omnipotent,  to  sustain  them  all  against 
every  temptation,  under  every  duty,  amidst  sorrows 
innumerable,  and  throughout  time  to  a  glorious  eter- 
nity ?  God  adopts  the  penitents,  but  it  is  Christ  who 
"gives  power  to  as  many  as  believe,"  to  become  the 
sons  of  God  ; "  God  strengthens  them  with  all  might, 
but  it  is  through  Christ  strengthening  him  that  the 
believer  can  do  all  things  ;  God  assures  comfort,  but 
the  comfort  reaches  us  only  through  him,  who,  having 
been  the  man  of  sorrows,  is  now  the  Lord  of  joy  ;  God 
has  prepared  unspeakable  glories  for  them  that  love 
him,  and  they  are  kept  by  his  power  unto  salvation  ; 
but  Christ  who  is  the  Author,  is  also  the  Finisher  of 
their  faith,  and  when  they  enter  the  full  blessedness  of 
heaven,  it  is  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord.  Christ  is  the 
beginning,  Christ  the  continuance,  Christ  the  end  ; 
Christ  first,  Christ  always,  Christ  last,  Christ  all  in  all. 
He  is  the  Way,  and  the  Truth,  and  the  Life  ;  no  man 
cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  him.  Who  but  the 
Son  of  God,  can  lie  in  the  bosom  of  God  ?  From  that 
bosom  he  came  to  be  our  Surety  in  human  flesh ;  to 


-i) 


ii 


it 
■it 


136 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR. 


[Lect.  VI. 


that  bosom  he  has  returned,  but  with  our  flesh  about 
him,  to  be  our  ever  prevalent  Advocate,  and  the  accom- 
plisher  of  our  redemption ;  for  where  he  is  glorified, 
onr  humanity  is  glorified  ;  and  where  the  Son  of  God 
dwells,  there  dwells  his  body  the  Church,  the  fulness 
of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all. 


LECTURE    VII. 


THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


I 


it 


I 


I     t 


l! 


i|i 


i  i 


i  n 


i:  I 


SIXTH  LORD'S  DAY. 


THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


TTAVING  ascertained  the  qualities  necessary  to  a 
-^-^  sufficient  substitute  or  mediator  for  us  with  God, 
viz :  That  he  be  very  man  and  very  God  in  one  per- 
son ;  we  come  to  consider  :  — 

Fourthly  :  The  provision  of  such  a  substitute  or 
mediator  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christy  as  we  learn  from  the 
Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 

"  Who,   then,''    asks   the   18th    Question,    ''  is   that 
mediator,  that  in  one  person  is  both  very  God  and  real 
righteous  man  ?  " 

Ans.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "  who  of  God  is  made 
unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification, 
and  redemption." 

"  Whence  knowest  thou  this?''  demands  the  Cate- 
chism, (Quest.  19th.) 

Ans.  "  From  the  Holy  Gospel,  which  God  himself 
revealed  first  in  Paradise,  and  afterwards  published  by 
the  patriarchs  and  prophets,  and  was  pleased  to  repre- 
sent it  by  the  shadows  of  sacrifices,  and  the  other  cere- 
monies of  the  law  ;  and,  lastly,  has  accomplished  it 
by  his  only  begotten  Son." 

The  order  in  which  these  questions  and  answers 
occur  is  the  most  natural  for  the  purpose  of  the  Cate- 
chism ;  but  for  convenience  of  exposition  we  shall 
invert  it,*  and  mark  :  — 

•  This  Ursinus  himself  is  forced  to  do.    p.  128,  Lond.  fol.  1633. 


l! 


THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR.       [Lect.  VII. 

I.  The  Fact  of  divine  testimony  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  our  Mediator  (Quest,  and  Ans.  19th)  ;  and, 
II.  The  Substance  of  that  testimony  concerning  him, 

(I8th.) 

I.  The  Fact  of  divine  testimony  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  our  Mediator. 

**  Whence  knowest  thou  thy  misery  ?  "  asked  the 
Catechism,  when  opening  to  us  our  ruin  through  sin  j 
and  the  answer  given  to  us  was :  "  Out  of  the  law  of 
God."    From  God  only  do  we  know  our  duty,  our  wick- 
edness, and  our  condemnation  ;  so,  from  God  only,  can 
wm  learn  the  way  of  escape  from  guilt,  and  return  to 
life.     The  revelation  of  such  a  merciful  deliverance  is, 
indeed,  as  it  was  called  by  the  heavenly  Messenger  to 
the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem,   "  glad  tidings  of  great 
joy  ;  "   which   is  more  briefly  expressed  by  our  one 
Saxon  word.  Gospel^  a  contraction  of  goodspell^  corre- 
sponding to  the  Greek,  Evangel,    This  "  glorious  "  and 
delightful  term  "  Gospel,"  our  Catechism  applies  to  the 
whole  doctrine  of  salvation  as  taught  throughout  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  ;  for  which 
there  is  the  highest  authority.     The  word  Gospel,  it  is 
true,  does  not  occur  in  our  English  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament,  but  its  synonyms  are  frequent  there, 
and,  in  citations  from  the  former  Scriptures  by  the  New  * 
Testament  writers,  it  is  freely  employed  :  "  Search  the 
Scriptures,"  that  is,  of  the  Old  Testament  which  only 
then  were  written,  said  our  Lord  to  the  skeptical  Jews, 
"  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life ;  and  they  are 
they  which  testify  of  me."     So,  also,   in    his  memo- 
rable walk  with  the  two  disciples  to  Emmaus,  he  said : 
"O  fools,  and   slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the 
prbphets  have  spoken  I     Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suf- 


Lect.  VII.]      THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


141 


fered  these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his  glory?  And, 
beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets,  he  expounded 
unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures,  the  things  concernincr 
himself."  From  these  and  many  other  texts,  we  learn, 
that  the  main  purpose  of  all  Scripture  is  to  teach  the 
doctrine  of  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  whatever  we 
find  in  them  is  contributive  to  the  great  theme. 

A.  "God  himself  revealed  it  first  in  Paradise." 
There,  after  their  fall  and  before  their  expulsion  from 
Eden,  God  himself,  in  the  hearing  of  our  first  parents, 
said  to  the  serpent-tempter :  "  I  will  put  enmity 
between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed 
and  her  seed  ;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head  and  thou  shalt 
bruise  his  heel."  Christ,  the  son  of  a  virgin,  came 
emphatically  as  the  seed  of  the  woman  ;  between  him 
and  "the  old  serpent  the  devil,"  there  was  battle  to 
extremity ;  and  though  in  the  desperate  struggle  our 
Champion  was  sorely  wounded,  he  crushed  the  head 
of  our  foe,  "  destroying  death  and  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death."  Hence  this  prophecy,  that  the  seed 
of  the  woman  should  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent, 
is  properly  regarded  as  the  first  promise  and  proclama- 
tion of  the  Gospel. 

B.  The  sacrifice  by  Abel  of  the  firstlings  of  his 
flock,  the  life  of  lambs  substituted  in  typical  expiation 
of  sin,  shows  that  he  apprehended  the  future  sacrifice 
of  "  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world,"  for  us,  and  told  that  in  so  doing  he  acted 
"  by  faith,"  and  faith  supposes  a  revelation  of  promise. 
The  offering  of  the  sacrifice  was  itself  a  publication  of 
the  Gospel  by  Abel,  and  so  we  find  our  Lord  naming 
him  as  the  first  of  the  prophets,  when,  speaking  of  the 
prophets  slain  by  wicked  men  he  says  :  "  Tlie  blood  of 


w 


I 

III' 


'■at 


r    ^ 


iiS  tHE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR.       [Lkct.  VII. 

all  the  prophets from  the  blood  of  Abel  to  the 

blood  of  Zacharias  which  perished  between  the  altar 

and  the  temple." 

The   publication  of   the   Gospel   thus   begun  was 
doubtless,  continued  by  the  patriarchs  until  the  flood, 
thoiicrh  the  record  of  their  preaching  and  the  range  ot 
1%  isVt  indistinct ;  for  Jude  speaks  of  Enoch  proph- 
csjmcf  concerning  the  coming  of  our  Lord,  and  Peter 
expressly  calls   Noah  "a  preacher  of  righteousness, 
and  that  Christ  preached  by  him  "  while  the  ark  was 
ft  preparing,"  (2  Peter  ii.  5  ;    1  Peter  ni.   19,  20.) 
So  Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  asserts  plamly 
that  God  preached  the  Gospel  unto  Abraham,  saymg : 
**  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blessed  ;"  which  revelation 
was  repeated  unto  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  by  them  all,  and 
Hiany  of  their  distinguished  descendants,  "  published  " 

to  tte  hm^  of  Israel. 

The  strain  was  taken  up,  and  the  publication  con- 
tinued, by   prophet   after   prophet;    their  intimations 
becoming   clearer   and   clearer,   like   the   brightening 
dftwa,  until  Jesus,  of  whom  Moses  and  all  of  them  did 
write,   himself   appeared,  the   Sun    of   righteousness, 
»'  with  healing  in  his  wings."     Respecting  this  succes- 
'  sive  and  unanimously  concurrent  testimony,  the  Apostle 
Peter  has  this  remarkable  language :  "  Of  which  sal- 
vation the  prophets    have  inquired  and  searched  dili- 
gently, who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should  come 
unto  you  ;  searching  what,  or  what  manner  of  time  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify,  when  it 
testified   beforehand  the   sufferings  of  Christ  and  the 
glory  that  should  follow.     Unto  whom  it  was  revealed, 
that  not  unto  themselves,  but  unto  us  they  did  minis- 
fir  the  things,  wbkb  are  now  reported  unto  you  by 


Lect.  VII.]      THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


143 


them  that  have  preached  the  Gospel  unto  you  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven." 

O,  Nay,  such  was  the  condescending  goodness  of 
God,  that,  not  content  with  "  revealing  it "  himself, 
"  first  in  Paradise,"  and  "  afterwards  publishing  it 
by  the  patriarchs  and  prophets,"  he  "  was  pleased  to 
represent  it  by  the  shadows  of  sacrifices  and  other 
ceremonies  of  the  law."  Under  the  former  dispensa- 
tion, the  enlightening  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
were  not  granted  so  abundantly  as  they  are  to  us 
under  this  which  is  emphatically  "  the  ministration  of 
the  Spirit ; "  and  our  heavenly  Father  assisted  the 
faith  of  his  people  by  sensible  signs  and  emblems. 
Such  were  the  sacrifices  of  living  victims  taught  to  the 
worshipper,  as  we  have  seen,  near  the  gates  of  Para- 
dise ;  the  translation  of  Enoch,  a  testimony  of  God  to  * 
the  righteousness  of  faith  ;  the  ark  of  Noah,  an  elo- 
quent emblem  of  the  covenant  within  which  the  Church 
is  safe  amidst  the  ruin  of  ungodly  men  ;  the  rescue  of 
Isaac,  the  son  of  promise,  from  the  death  for  which,  at 
the  command  of  God,  the  father  of  the  faithful  had 
prepared  him  ;  the  wrestling  of  Jacob  with  the  Angel 
of  the  Covenant,  until  he  obtained  from  the  present  Son 
of  God  the  blesvsing  he  desired  ;  the  deliverance  of 
Israel  from  the  destruction  of  Egypt  by  the  blood 
of  the  PaschaL  lamb.  But,  after  the  formal  constitu- 
tion of  the  pilgrim  tribes  at  the  foot  of  Sinai,  as  a 
church  or  congregation  of  worshippers,  God  appointed 
the  law  of  ordinances,  that  by  a  regular  and  complete 
system  of  types  or  shadows  (so  called  because  pre- 
cursing  the  substance  that  was  to  come)  all  the  great 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel  might  be  presented  distinctly  to 
the  eyes  of  the  people.     All  these  representative  cere- 


mm 


t 


144 


THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR.      [Lkct.  VU. 


I 


i  I 


It 


monies  typified  Christ.  Every  service  and  every  officer 
of  that  law  pointed  forward  to  Christ  and  his  offices 
for  us.  The  shedding  of  blood,  the  burning  of  the 
victims,  the  sending  of  the  scape-goat  with  the  sins  of 
the  people  into  the  wilderness;  the  purification  of  the 
sinner  by  the  hyssop  branch  sprinkling  the  sacrificial 
blood  upon  him  ;  the  shew-bread,  the  lights  of  the 
sanctuary,  the  offering  of  incense,  the  Visible  Glory 
resting  on  the  ark  of  the  testimony  ;  the  ark  itself 
with  its  propitiatory  and  the  memorials  which  the  pro- 
pitiatory covered ;  the  officiating  priesthood,  especially 
the  high-priest,  with  the  sanctifying  mitre  on  his  head, 
the  mystical  Urim  and  Thummim  on  his  breast  and  his 
robes  of  ceremony ;  the  intercession  of  the  high-priest 
once  a  year  within  the  veil  and  the  blessing  which 
followed  it ;  all  represented  and  preached  Christ  and 
liis  Gospel,  the  provision  made  for  our  need,  and  the 
glory  consequent  upon  the  grace.  All  declared  the 
necessity  and  appointment  of  a  Mediator  for  us,  the 
substitution  of  his  person  to  bear  the  wrath  of  God  on 
our  behalf,  his  acceptableness  with  God  and  his  inter- 
cession, which  the  Father  heareth  always,  and  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  through  him.  The  ceremonial  law 
was,  in  fact,  the  Gospel  of  the  Old  Testament. 

D.  All  these  promises,  publications,  prophecies,  cere- 
monies, and  officers  had  their  anti-type  or  reality  in 
Christ.  By  his  incarnation,  his  anointing  from  the 
Holy  Ghost,  by  his  life  of  obedience,  his  bitter  sorrows, 
his  unspeakable  agony,  his  death  in  darkness  on  the 
cross  accursed  of  God,  his  burial,  his  uprising  from  the 
dead,  his  ascension  to  heaven,  his  session  at  the  right 
liand  of  the  Father,  his  pleading  for  us  there  as  our 
Advocate,  and  the  outpom'ing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 


Lect.  VII.]       THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDUTOB. 


145 


answer  to  his  prayers,  he  has  accomplished  the  truth  of 
his  Gospel  and  made  clear  as  the  light  of  day  the  doc- 
trines dimly  perceptible  amidst  the  shadows  of  the  law. 
'*  The  law  was  given  by  Moses,"—  the  moral  law  which 
brings  condemnation,  and  the  ceremonial  law,  which 
shadowed  forth  the  promises  of  life  ;  "  "  but  grace  and 
truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ  "—  grace,  deliverance  from 
the  condemnation  of  the  moral  law,  truth,  the  reality 
or  actual  fulfilment  of  the  things  before  shadowed  by 
the  types  of  the  ceremonial  law. 

It  is,  therefore,  to  this  Gospel,  the  revelation  of  God 
concerning  Jesus  Christ,  the  foretellings  and  prefigur- 
ations  of  the  Old  Testament,  with  the  histories  and 
doctrinal  expositions  of  the  New,  that  we  go  for  knowl- 
edge of  the  Mediator  ;  our  faith  is  built  on  the  founda- 
tion of  apostles   and  prophets,  Jesus   Christ   himself 
being  the  chief  corner-stone."      The  truth  on  which 
we  of  the  Reformed  Churches  rely  is  the  word  of  God, 
the  whole  word  of  God,  and  the  word  of  God  alone. 
Nothing  short  of  divine  testimony  do  we  credit ;   all 
that  is  supported  by  divine  testimony  do  we  believe ; 
whatever    has    not   the   divine   testimony   we   reject. 
From  God  alone  we  can  derive  our  religious  creed,  for 
he  is  the  object  of  all  worship ;  from  him  alone  our 
rules  of  moral   practice,  for  he   is   the   object  of  all 
duty. 

II.  The  substance  of  the  divine  testimony  concerning 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  our  Mediator.  This  is  given 
in  the  answer  to  the  18th  Question,  which  has  two 
parts— -the  first:  a  recital  of  the  three  principal  names 
designating  our  Mediator ;  the  second :  a  comprehen- 
sive catalogue  of  the  blessings  which  we  have  in  him. 

A.  Our  Mediator  is  "  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."     Of 

VOL.  I.  10 


''  MM 


I 


I 


THE  PROVISION   OF  A  MEDIATOR.      [Lect.  VII. 

these  names  we  shall  be  required  to  treat  fully  in  expound- 
ing the  lessons  of  the  Eleventh,  Twelfth,  and  Thirteenth 
Lord's  Days,  and  need  now  note  only  a  few  things. 

a.  He  is  our  Lord.     This  is  an  epithet  of  authority 
and  power,  which  belongs  to  him  by  delegated  right  as 
appointed  by  tlie  Father,  in  the  plan  of  redemption,  to 
rule  over  the  Church  and  over  all  things  for  the  sake 
rf  the  Church  ;  and  throughout  the  New  Testament 
{with  but  two  or  three  not  contradictory  exceptions) 
It  is  applied  exclusively  to  him  as  the    Son   of  God 
incarnate,  the  Saviour.     "Unto  you,"  said  the  angel 
to  tlie  shepherds,  "is  born   this   day  in  the  city  of 
David  a  Saviour  which  is  Christ  the  Lord  ;  "  and  the 
Apostle  to  the  Romans  :  "  For  to  this  end  Christ  both 
died  and  rose  and  revived,  that  he  might  be  Lord  botli 
of  the  dead  and  the  living."     From  wliich,  and  many 
other   passages,  we    see   that    he    is   called    Lord,  not 
merely  in  virtue  of  his  original  divinity  as  the  Second 
Person  of  the  Godhead,  (Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and 
to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost !)  but  with  special 
reference   to   his   mediatorial  character  ;   nay,  that  it 
was  bestowed  upon  him  in  reward  of  his  mediatorial 
obedience,      '*  All  power,"  said  he   himself  after  his 
resurrection,  "is  given   unto    me   in    heaven  and   m 
earth  ;  "  and  the  Apostle  to  the  Phihppians  testifies  of 
the  Immanuel :  "  Being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he 
Immbled   himself,  and    became   obedient   unto   death, 
even  the  death  of  the  cross.    Wherefore  God  also  hath 
highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  (or  office) 
which  is  above  every  name  ;  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus 
every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things 
in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth  ;  and  that  every 
toncme  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the 


I 


Lect.  VIL]      THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR.  I47 

^ory  of  God  tlie  Father."     Yet  does  the  delegation 
of  such  authority  to   him  as   the   Saviour   prove   his 
divinity.      To    what    mere    creature   could    God    the 
father   commit   a  viceroyship   so   great?     Who,  less 
than  divine,  could  comprehend  the  divine  counsels  for 
the  government  of  the  Church  ?     Who,  less  than  divine, 
could  sustain  the  weight  of  all  power  over  all  things  in 
heaven,  earth,  and  hell  ?     Who,  less  than  divine,  c'ould 
receive  the  homage  of  "  every  knee  "  and  the  ascrip- 
tions of  "every  tongue,"  as  the  "  Lord,"  "  whose  right 
It  is  to  reiVn  ?  "  ^ 

b.  "  Our  Lord  Jesus."     This  is  the  name  which  was 
given  to  him  by  the  angel  "  before  he  was  conceived  in 
the  womb,"  and  when  the  announcement  was  made  to 
the  virgin  that  she  should  bring  forth  a  son.     It  may 
be,  therefore,  considered  as  more  peculiarly  his  human 
name  the  name  by  which  he  was  called  by  his  mother 
and  kindred  and  acquaintances.     So  Peter,  preaching 
to  the  mixed  multitude,  says :  «  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a 
man  approved  of  God  among  you  ;"  and  Paul  to  Tim- 
othy :  »  There  is  one  mediator  between  God  and  men, 
the  man  Christ  Jesus."     But  the  name  was  given  to 
liira  because  of  its  peculiar  significance :  "  Thou  shalt 
call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from 
their  sins."     The  word  is  an  imitation  of  the  Hebrew 
name  Joshua,  which  means  a  saviour,  or  one  who  makes 
sate.      As  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  having  succeeded 
Moses  by  the  command  of  God,  led  the  tribes  in  safety 
to  a  triumphant  possession  of  the  promised  land ;   so 
does  our  Jesus  deliver  his  brethren  of  the  true  Israel, 
from  the  po^ver  of  their  sins,  their  woret  enemies,  and 
bring  them  through  all  difficulties  to  the  secure  enjoy- 
ment of  their  heavenly  rest.     For  this  he  unites  to  his 


I 


: 


I 


1 

P 


THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR.       [Lect.  VIL 

infinitely  divine  attributes,  the  experience  and  full  sense 
<lf  our  humanity,  assuring  us  of  his  sympathy,  and  en- 
couraging us  by  his  power. 

<?.  "  The  Lord  Jesus  ChrisC    This  is  a  verbal  noun 
from  a  word  signifying  to  anoint, — anointing  with  oil  in 
solemn  ceremony  being  the  method  by  which  prophets, 
iwriests,  and  kings  were  consecrated  under  the  Old  Testa- 
ment.   It  is  properly  neither  a  personal  name,  nor  a  title 
descriptive  of  office,  but  being  added  to  Lord  Jesus,  de- 
clares that  he  has  been  appointed  and  confirmed  by  God 
as  the  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King  of  his  Church.    "  The 
SfMrit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  for  he  hath  anointed 
me,"  is  the  language  which  was  prophetically  put  into 
the  mouth  of  our  Lord ;  and,  accordingly,  we  read  in 
the  Gospel  that  "  Jesus,  being  baptized  (by  John),  and 
praying,  the  heaven  was  opened,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
descended  in  a  bodily  shape  like  a  dove  upon  him,  and 
a  voice  came  from  heaven,  which  said :  '  Thou  art  my 
beloved  Son ;  in  thee  I  am  well  pleased.'  "    This  unction 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  the  inauguration  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  to   his  mediatorial  office,  by  God  the  Father. 
Hence,  because  of  his  infinite  preeminence  as  an  office- 
l)earer  by  divine  appointment,  he  is  called  emphatically 
**  the  Christ,''  or  "  the  Messiah,"  which  is  the  Hebrew 
synonym.     The  doctrine  which  we  should  derive  from 
tibe  word  Christ,  as  applied  to  our  Lord  Jesus,  is,  that 
the  efficiency  of  our  Saviour's  atonement  depended  not 
inerely  upon  the  dignity  of  his  person,  or  the  infinite 
merit  of  his  work,  but  also  on  the  fact  of  his  having 
been  called  and  set  apart  to  his  mediatorial  office  by 
God  himself     In  the  appointment  of  God  the  Son,  by 
God  the  Father,  and  his  anointment  by  God  the  Holy 
Ghost,  we  see  the  three  Persons  of  the  Godhead  united 
as  the  God  of  our  redemption. 


Lect.  VII.]      THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR.  I49 

B.  The  Catechism  adds  a  comprehensive  catalogue 
of  the  blessings  which  we  have  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
taken  from  1  Cor.  i.  30:  «  Of  him  (that  is,  by  the 
gracious  will  of  God),  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  who  of 
God  (that  is,  by  appointment  of  God)  is  made  unto  us 
wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption ; "  to  which  the  Apostle  adds :  "  that,  accord- 
mg  as  it  is  written,  he  that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  in 
the  Lord  ;  "  the  term  "  Lord,"  in  this  latter  veree,  with 
"  Christ  Jesus  "  in  the  former,  making  the  triple  appel- 
Jation  by  which  we  acknowledge  and  adore  the  Imman- 
uel  as  our  Saviour,  "  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our 
laitn. 

a.  He  is  «  made  unto  us  wisdom."     He  is  the  wis- 
dom of  God  unto  our  salvation,  because  it  was  infinite 
wisdom  which  provided  the  method  of  our  justification ; 
and  tlie  doctrine  of  Clirist  is  the  sum  of  all  divine  truth 
through  which  God  makes  himself  known  as  our  God! 
He  IS  made  unto  us  wisdom,  because  by  his  Holy  Spirit 
the  writers  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  were  moved 
to  prepare  that  only  and  sufficient  treasuiy  of  divine 
truth  for  our  learning,  comfort,  patience,  and  hope; 
and  because,  by  the  power  of  that  same  spirit  within 
us,  we  are  enlightened  to  understand  the  truth,  convert- 
ed to  love  the  truth,  and  strengthened  to  obey  the  truth 
All  the  knowledge  which  the  Christian  needs  must 
come  to  him  through  Christ  the  Mediator,  as  the  Apos- 
tle says:    "God,  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divere 
manners,  spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the 
prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  his 
Son  ;     and  agam :  "  God,  who  commanded  the  light  to 
shme  out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts  to  give 
the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the 


IJBKM 


IM 


» 


160 


THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR.       [Lect.  VII. 


face  of  Jesus  Christ."     By  Christ  the  Mediator,  we 
have  infinite  wisdom  speaking  to  us  with  human  lips. 

b.  "And  righteousness."  We  have  nothing  of  our  own 
that  is  fit  to  appear  before  him,  but,  covered  with  sin, 
we  could  not  stand  in  his  presence  ;  and  all  the  merit 
of  his  expiatory  death  and  obedient  life  is  freely  im- 
puted to  the  believer  as  the  perfectly  sufficient  ground 
of  his  justification ;  and,  clothed  in  Christ's  righteous- 
ness, he  is  accepted  as  a  penitent  and  adopted  as  a  child 
by  the  reconciled  Father. 

«  «*And  sanctification."  The  blessing  of  sanctifi- 
cation  is  inseparable  from  the  grace  of  justification. 
"  Jesus  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins."  It  is  the 
power  of  liis  Holy  Spirit  applying  to  our  hearts  the  doc- 
trine of  his  atoning  and  interceding  love,  which  trans- 
forms our  dispositions  from  enmity  to  the  love  of  God, 
purifies  our  affections  from  the  contaminating  grossness 
of  the  flesh,  and  supplies  to  our  faith  those  superior 
motives  which  successfully  oppose  the  temptations  of 
the  world.  This  renovating  change  is  gradual,  and 
never  complete  in  this  world,  but  it  is  begun  with  faith, 
as  the  Evangelist  says :  "  To  as  many  as  received  him 
.  •  .  .  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even 
to  them  that  believe  on  his  name."  But  the  full  per- 
fection of  his  people  is  secured,  for  — 

d,  "  He  is  made  unto  us  ...  .  redemption."  Re- 
demption most  often,  and  certainly  when  following 
sanctification,  signifies  the  full  and  accomplished  salva- 
tion of  the  believer,  both  body  and  soul ;  his  entire 
deliverance  from  sin  and  guilt  and  death  ;  and  his  res- 
toration complete  to  the  favor,  and  presence,  and  enjoy- 
ment of  God  forever.  This  Christ  undertakes,  and  this 
he   will   perform.     "  He  is  able  to  save  even  to  the 


Lkct.  VII.]       THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDUTOR. 


161 


uttermost "  extremity  of  this  life,  all  that  come  unto 
God  by  him.  He  is  the  Forerunner,  who  for  us  has 
entered  and  taken  possession  of  heaven,  the  second  Par- 
adise; lie  is  the  Resurrection  and  Life,  and  all  who 
believe  in  him,  though  they  die,  shall  live ;  he  is  our 
life  himself,  and  wherever  he  is  formed  in  the  heart, 
there  he  is  the  hope,  the  earnest,  and  the  beginning  of 
heavenly,  immortal  glory.  He  is  all  our  wisdom,  all 
our  righteousness,  all  our  sanctification  ;  our  all  in  all. 
Who  then  can  pluck  his  people  out  of  those  pierced 
hands  by  which  he  holds  them  with  an  almighty  love ! 
They  are  his  own,  purchased  by  his  blood  ;  his  own, 
the  travail  of  his  soul ;  his  own,  the  trophies  of  his 
grace ;  and  will  he  suffer  himself  to  be  robbed  of  his 
own  ?  Beloved  Master,  our  Elder  Brother,  Jehovah- 
Jesus,  Lord  our  Righteousness,  —  thou  art  "  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life  I  " 

Lessons. 

First:  Let  us  trust  in  Christ  alone,  fully,  to  the 
end ;  for  pardon,  for  strength,  for  glory. 

Secondly :  Let  us  rely  upon  his  word  ;  for  guidance, 
for  instruction,  for  encouragement. 

Thirdly :  Let  us  live  near  to  him,  by  prayer,  by  com- 
munion, by  close  following  of  his  example. 


•i   I 


- '  \  I 


LECTURE  VIII. 


SAVING  FAITH. 


: 


: 


SEVENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

SAVING    FAITH. 

Quest.  XX.  Are  all  men,  then,  as  they  perished  in  Adam,  saved  by  Chiistt 

A.NS.  No;  only  those  who  are  ingrafted  into  him,  and  receive  all  his 
benefits  by  a  true  faith. 

Quest.  XXI.    What  is  true  faith  f 

Aks.  True  faith  is  not  only  a  certain  knowledge,  whereby  I  hold  for 
truth  all  that  God  has  revealed  to  us  in  his  word,  but  also  an  assured 
confidence,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  works  by  the  Gospel  in  my  heart, 
that,  not  only  unto  others,  but  to  me  also,  remission  of  sin,  everlasting 
righteousness  and  salvation,  are  freely  given  by  God,  merely  of  grace, 
only  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  merits. 

Quest.  XXII.     What  is,  then,  necessary  for  a  Christian  to  believe  1 

Aks.  All  things  promised  us  in  the  Gospel;  which  the  Articles  of  our 
Catholic,  undoubted  Christian  faith  briefly  teach  us. 

Quest.  XXIII.     What  are  those  Articles  ? 

1.  I  believe  in  God,  the  Father  Almighty,  maker  of  heaven  and  earth; 

2.  And  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  begotten  Son  our  Lord; 

3.  Who  was  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary; 

4.  SuflFered  under  Pontius  Pilate,    was  crucified,  dead  and  buried;  He 

descended  into  hell; 
6.  The  third  day  he  rose  again  from  the  dead; 

6.  He  ascended  into  heaven,  and  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God  the 

Father  Almighty, 

7.  From  thence  he  shall  come  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead. 

8.  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost; 

9.  I  believe  in  a  holy  Catholic  Church;  the  communion  of  saints; 

10.  The  forgiveness  of  sins; 

11.  The  resurrection  of  the  body; 

12.  And  the  hfe  everlasting.     Amen. 

TT  is  the  unspeakably  precious  privilege  of  the  Chris- 
tian preacher  to  declare  that  God  hath  no  pleasure 
in  the  death  of  the  wicked ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  hath 
himself  provided  by  Jesus  Christ,  his  only-begotten  Son, 
our  Lord  incarnate  as  the  seed  of  the  woman,  an  aton- 


i 
I 


; 


156 


SAVING  FAITH. 


[Lect.  VIII. 


ing  righteousness  infinitely  sufficient  to  save  all  wlio  go 
unto  him  for  pardon  and  life.  This  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  do,  briefly,  in  discoursing  on  the  lessons  of  the 
Fifth  and  Sixth  Lord's  Days,  hoping  for  permission 
from  a  good  Providence  i4»  open  the  doctrines  of  re- 
demption more  fully  in  our  comments  on  several  arti- 
cles of  the  creed.  To-day,  the  Catechism  teaches  us 
how  we  must  go  unto  God  that  we  may  be  received  of 
him  in  mercy ;  and  the  lesson  before  us  shows :  — 

JFiBST :  The  necessity  of  Faith  in  Christ, 

^20th  Question  and  Answer.) 

Secondly  :  The  nature  of  true  Faith. 

(21st  Question  and  Answer.) 

Thirdly  :  The  Articles  of  true  Christian  Faith. 

(22d  and  23d  Questions  and  Answers.) 

First  :   The  necessity/  of  Faith  in  Christ 

The  Catechism  having  taught  us  that  all  men,  being 
represented  in  Adam,  came  with  him  under  condemna- 
tion ;  and  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  his  perfect 
satisfaction  to  the  justice  of  God,  represented,  as  the 
second  Adam,  all  who  are  saved,  an  inquiry  natu- 
rally arises :  Is  the  representation  of  the  Mediator  com- 
mensurate with  that  of  our  first  parent  ?  i,  e.  *'  Are  all 
men,  as  they  perished  in  Adam,  saved  by  Christ?" 
The  answer  given  is,  "  No  ;  "  Christ's  representation  is 
cm  another  principle,  and  he  saves  "  only  those  who 
are  ingrafted  into  him  and  receive  all  his  benefits  by  a 
true  faith.'* 

1.  All  men  are  not  saved  by  Christ.  J 

The  Scriptures,  while  they  conclude  all  under  sin, 
gnd  set  forth  the  infinite  merits  of  the  atonement  pro- 
vided for  sinners,  declare  that  there  are  those  to  whom 
the  benefits  of  the  atonement  are  not  applied. 

The  unregenerate  are  not  saved  : 


Lect.  VIII.] 


SAVING   FAITH. 


157 


"  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God  ;  "  said  our  Lord  to  Nicodemus. 

The  impenitent  are  not  saved  : 

"Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish;" 
said  he  to  the  Jews. 

The  unbelieving  are  not  saved  : 

"  He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned  ;  "  said  he 
to  his  apostles,  when  sending  them  forth  to  preach  the 
Gospel. 

The  wilfully  vicious  are  not  saved.  Throughout  the 
Scriptures,  liars,  adulterers,  drunkards,  thieves,  mur- 
derers, and  other  gross  criminals  are  denied  the  hope 
of  heaven. 

And,  that  there  will  be  found  such  unreclaimed 
transgressors  when  Christ  completes  his  mediatorial 
administration,  we  know  from  his  own  foreshowing  of 
the  final  judgment:  "When  the  Son  of  Man  shall 
come  in  his  glory  ....  before  him  shall  be  gathered 
all  nations:  and  he  shall  separate  them  one  from  another, 
as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the  goats ;  and 
.  he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand  and  the  goats 
on  the  left.  Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on 
his  right  hand :  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit 
the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of 

the  world Then  shall  he  say  also  unto  them 

on  the  left  hand  :  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into 
everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels. 
. . .  And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment, 
but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal."  Matt.  xxv.  31-46. 
All  men,  therefore,  are  not  represented  in  Christ  the 
Saviour. 

j  II.  Those,  and  those  only,  are  saved,  "  who  are 
ingrafted  into  him,  and  receive  all  his  benefits  by  a 
true  faith." 


I 


^ 


Il 


SATING  FAITH. 


[Lect.  VIIL 


l*  The  representifion  of  all  men  in  Adam  is  on  the 
principle  of  their  natural  descent  from  him,  as  the 
original  man,  and  progenitor  of  the  race.  Between  us 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  there  is  no  such  natural  or 
necessary  connection.  By  his  liumanity  he  is  our 
kinsman  or  brothef,  but  not  our  parent,  or,  of  birth- 
rightf  our  sponsor.  He  represents  his  people  of  his 
§em  choice,  according  to  the  will  of  God  in  redemp- 
;  his  people  accept  him  as  their  representative,  of 
free  choice,  according  to  the  same  divine  will. 
The  relation  i%  therefore,  not  original,  but  appointed  ; 
not  necessaiy,  but  gracious  ;  not  natural,  but  spintual ; 
ordained  to  deliver  those  whom  Christ  represents,  from 
their  condemnation  with  Adam ;  vet  in  no  sense  violat- 

ft 

ing  the  justice  which  demanded  the  condemnation,  but 
on  the  contrary,  rendoring  a  full  satisfaction  to  the  law 
of  God  for  those  who  are  delivered.  In  a  word,  Christ 
takes  the  place  of  Adam,  to  supply  the  righteousness 
which  Adam  failed  to  render,  yet  not  on  behalf  of  all 
whom  Adam  represented,  but  on  behalf  of  those  whom 
lUl  represents  as  Redeemer.  If  this  difference  in  the 
representation  be  not  admitted,  it  must  follow  that  as 
all  men  fell  in  Adam,  all  men  are  saved  in  Christ,  which 
the  Scriptures  show  is  not  the  case  ;  wherefore,  when 
the  Scripture  says,  that  as  in  Adam  all  died,  so  in 
Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive ;  and  "  as  by  the  offence 
of  one  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation  ; 
even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  free  gift  came 
upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life,"  we  must  under- 
stand the  Apostle  as  speaking  of  "  all  "  represented  in 
either ;  in  Adam,  the  head  of  his  race,  in  Christ  the 
Head  of  his  Church,  which  is  his  body  and  "  his  ful- 


ness. 


>> 


Lbct.  VIII.J 


SAVING  FAITH. 


169 


The  same  rule  of  interpretation  applies  to  manv 
Scriptures,  which  the  superficial  or  heterodox  reader 
might  quote,  as  proving  that  most  inconsistent  doctrine 
of  universal  redemption.  It  should  also  be  remem- 
bered, that,  under  the  former  dispensation,  salvation 
seemed  confined  to  the  Jew^s,  whereas  now  it  is 
preached  to  all  people  ;  and  when  it  is  said  that  Christ 
is  a  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  it 
means  for  the  sins  of  all  (not  of  the  JeWs  only  but  of 
all)  nations, —  or  of  all  those  in  every  nation  who 
believe.  Faith  must  always  be  supposed,  for  "  he  that 
believeth  not  (Jew  or  Gentile)  shall  be  damned.'' 

2.  Such,  then,  being  the  character  of  the  relation, 
there  must  be  some  method  by  which  those  who  are 
saved  are  brought  into  a  vital  union  with  their  repre- 
sentative, that  they  may  receive  the  advantage  of  his 
mediation  for  them.  This  link,  or  bond,  or  method  of 
the  sinner's  connection  with  Christ,  the  Catechism, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  all  Scripture,  declares  to 
he  faith.  It  cannot  be  any  merit,  or  anything  that  has 
merit,  of  our  own;  because  the  representation  of  Christ 
presupposes  that  we  are  utterly  guilty,  and  is  intended 
to  provide  for  us  righteousness  of  which  we  are  ourselves 
utterly  incapable  ;  and,  therefore,  it  must  be  some  purely 
gracious  process  by  which  we  are  made  Christ's,  and 
Christ  is  made  ours.  Life,  under  the  first  covenant, 
was  promised  on  a  condition :  "  Do  this  and  thou  shalt 
live."  Christ,  the  second  Adam,  assumed  the  condition 
in  the  room  of  his  church,  and  by  his  perfect  righteous- 
ness purchased,  or  merited  for  them,  life.  Our  enjoy- 
ment of  that  life  can,  therefore,  depend  upon  no  condi- 
tion, but  is  simply  bestowment  on  Christ's  part,  and 
acceptance  on  ours.     All  this  the  answer  of  the  Cate- 


SAVING  FAITH. 


[Lect.  VIII. 


fMsih  teactiiBs:  "OitlytlioBe  (are  saved)  who  are  in- 
grafted into  Christ,  and  receive  all  his  benefits  by  a  true 
faith." 

Here  is  an  act  of  God  :  They  are  grafted  into  Christ 
by  faith  ;  and  an  act  of  those  who  are  saved  :  "  They 
receive  all  his  benefits  by  a  true  faith."  God  brings 
them  into  this  union  ;  they  receive  (embrace  or  lai/  hold 
of,  is  a  better  translation)  all  the  benefits  flowing  from 
the  union.  The  act  of  God  is  first,  for  he  is  the  giver ; 
the  act  of  the  sinner  follows,  for  he  is  the  receiver. 

The  figure  of  ingrafting  is  taken  from  our  Lord's 
own  parable  of  The  Living  Vine  (John  xv.  1-8),  and 
the  Apostle  Paul's  of  The  Olive  Trees  (Rom.  xi.  17-24) ; 
but  it  is  familiar  to  our  own  observation,  and  delio-ht- 
fully  illustrative.  By  nature,  we  are  branches  of  a  con- 
demned and  pernicious  vine,  bearing  only  evil  fruit, 
and  soon  to  be  cast  into  the  fire.  Of  ourselves,  we 
cannot  separate  ourselves  from  the  accursed  stem,  much 
less  make  ourselves  part  of  the  living  vine,  Christ  Jesus. 
God,  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  takes  us,  cuts  us  off  from  the 
ruined  vine,  and  grafts  us  into  the  stem  of  Christ ;  the 
vital  union  is  then  formed,  a  new  life  flows  into  the 
grafted  branch,  and  it  blossoms,  buds,  puts  forth  leaves, 
and  yields  good  fruit,  not  from  itself,  but  by  virtue  of  the 
life  it  derives  out  of  the  stem.  Christ  is  still  the  vine ; 
the  fruit  is  also  all  his,  but  he  makes  the  once  wild 
branch  a  part  of  himself,  and  so  makes  it  fruitful,  and 
himself  fmitful.  Or,  to  lay  aside  the  figure :  The  sin- 
ner is  joined  to  Christ  by  the  free  grace  of  God,  and 
derives  spiritual  life  from  Christ,  and  Christ  works  good 
works  through  him.  The  glory  is  Christ's,  the  bene- 
fits are  the  believer's. 

God,  we  have  said,  is  the  agent  in  the  grafting,  but 


Lect.  VIIL] 


SAVING  FAITH. 


161 


flie  method  of  engraftment  which  he  uses  is  faith.     Do 
you  ask  how  this  may  be,  since  faith  is  the  act  of  the 
Christian?     We  answer:  Faith,  though  our  personal 
act,  IS  not  of  our  own  strength,  but  is  the  effect  of  the 
Holy  Spirit's  regenerating  grace,  and  this  grace  comes 
to  us  from  God,  tlirough  Christ.     Thus,  the  Heavenly 
Father  provides  in  the  Mediator  the  proper  object  of 
faith,  and  fills  him  with  the  Spirit  of  all  grace  ;   he  then 
brings  the  sinner  nigh  to  the  Saviour  whom  he  has 
pierced,  and,  as  he  applies  the  sinner  to  the  bleeding 
side,  grace  flows  out  to  the  soul,  and  the  sinner,  feeling 
within  him  the  vivifying  power,  believes  and  clincs  to 
his  embracmg  Saviour.     Grace  from  the  Sa\dour's''side, 
and  grace  in  the  believer^s  apprehending  soul,  unite  to 
bind  ui  union  close  and   sweet  and  vital,  the  sinner 
saved,  to  the  Saviour  of  sinners.     From  that  moment 
he  becomes  one  with  Christ ;    all  the  benefits  which 
Christ,  as  his  representative,  has  obtained  for  him,  be- 
come his.    Christ  is,  "  of  God  made  unto  him,  wisdom 
and  righteousness  and  sanctification  and  redemption." 

3.  Do  you  ask  again  :  Why  faith  is  made  the  neces- 
sary method  of  union  ?     We  answer  briefly  now,  as  we 
shall  more  at  large  hereafter.     It  is  necessary  that  we 
return  to  our  obedience ;  and  the  great  command  of 
God  m  Christ  is  :  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
It  is  necessary  that  the  sinner  acknowledge  Christ  as 
his  representative,  and  faith  is  such  acknowledgment. 
It  is  necessary  that  the  sinner  should  apply  to  Christ 
for  his  acceptance,  and  faith  is  such  an  application.     It 
is  necessary  that  the  sinner  receive  the  benefits  of  sol- 
vation, and  faith  is  such  an  apprehending  or  laying  hold 
of  them.     It  is  necessary  that  there  be  a  channel  af 
communication  between  Christ,  the  fountain,  and  the 


VOL.    I. 


11 


162 


SAVING    FAITH. 


[Lect.  VIII. 


Lect.  VIII.] 


SAVING    FAITH. 


163 


I 


M 


II 


sinner's  soul,  and  faith  is  the  golden  conduit.  As  sal- 
vation is  all  of  grace,  so  it  is  all  through  Christ ;  and  as 
it  is  all  through  Christ,  so  it  is  all  by  faith. 

How  important,  therefore,  that  our  faith  be  true ! 
Let  us,  then,  learn  : 

Secondly:   The  Nature  of  True  Faith. 

We  derive  whatever  knowledge  we  have  of  things 
beyond  our  immediate  consciousness,  either  through 
our  own  perceptions  or  from  the  testimony  of  others ; 
but,  as  both  our  range  and  power  of  personal  observa- 
tion are  very  limited,  by  far  the  greatest  part  of  our 
knowledge  is  communicated  to  us  by  others.  When 
such  testimony  is  brought  before  us,  we  exercise  our 
judgment  respecting  the  witnesses,  determining  whether 
they  can  be  relied  on  for  veracity  and  intelligence; 
since  a  man  may  wish  to  state  the  truth,  yet  lack  suffi- 
cient good  sense  or  opportunity,  or  both,  to  know  what 
is  the  truth ;  or  he  may  have  the  sense  and  the  infor- 
mation, yet  lack  honesty  of  purpose  ;  but,  when  we 
consider  him  entitled  to  credit,  we  believe  him,  and 
add  the  facts  which  he  states  to  our  knowledge.     Thus, 

I  am  certain  that  there  is  such  a  country  as  Japan, 
though  I  have  never  been  there ;  and  that  Alexandef 
was  once  king  of  Macedon,  though  he  died  two  thou- 
sand years  ago.  This  belief,  or  holding  of  testimony 
to  be  true,  is  the  same  as  faith ;  faith  being  derived 
from  a  Latin  word  corresponding  to  our  Saxon  belief. 

When,  however,  the  testimony  respects  things  in 
which  we  are  personally  concerned,  and  our  belief  of 
it. is  full,  we  rely  upon  it  and  act  accordingly.     Thus, 

II  merchant  has  advices  from  a  correspondent  at  a  for- 
eign port,  that,  by  sending  there  a  cargo  of  certain 
commodities,  he  will  not  fail  to  realize  a  larger  profit 


than  he  can  by  any  other  transaction  ;  and,  if  he  relies 
upon  the  testimony,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  make  the 
venture.  Without  such  reliance  upon  others,  how  nar- 
row would  be  the  sphere  of  commerce  !  Such  a  prac- 
tical reliance  is  the  same  as  confidence  in  testimony. 

Now,  the  Scriptures  contain  the  declarations  of  God 
respecting  all  things  which  concern  our  everlasting 
welfare ;  and  belief  of  God  as  the  infallible  witness, 
and  of  the  truths  revealed  in  his  testimony,  is  i\\Q  faith 
by  which  we  are  grafted  into  Christ  and  receive  all  his 
benefits  as  our  Saviour.  But,  at  the  same  time,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  through  the  depraving  effect  of  sin 
upon  our  minds  and  hearts,  we  are  unable,  without 
divine  grace,  either  rightly  to  understand,  or  duly  to 
appreciate,  spiritual  (that  is,  religious)  truths.  Hence 
the  Catechism,  in  the  21st  Question  and  Answer,  teaches 
us:  I.  The  several  essential  parts  of  genuine  faith; 
and,  IL  The  divine  source  from  which  such  faith  is 
derived. 

I.  The  several  essential  parts  of  genuine  faith. 

These  may  be  brought  under  three  heads :  Faith  in 
the  witness ;  faith  in  the  testimony ;  faith  in  the  aj^j^li- 
cation  of  the  testimony  to  ourselves, 

a.  Faith  in  the  witness.  The  witness  is  none 
other  than  God  himself.  The  first  act  of  religion  is  to 
believe  that  God  exists ;  and  to  believe  in  the  existence 
of  the  true  God,  is  to  believe  that  he  is  the  eternal, 
self-subsisting  Author  and  Sovereign  of  all  things, 
infinite  as  to  his  being,  wisdom,  power,  holiness,  justice, 
goodness,  and  truth.*  From  him  alone  can  come  a 
certain  knowledge  of  whatever  is  requisite  for  us  to 
know,  because  only  he  who  made  and  administers  ail 

*  See  Westminster  Assembly's  Catechism. 


r 


SAVING  FAITH. 


[Lect.  VIII. 


n 


1  i 
i 


things  can  know  them  aright ;  but  especially  is  it  nec- 
essary that  he  should  make  known  to  us  the  things  of 
religion,  because  he  is  the  only  and  supreme  Object  of 
all  religion,  and,  therefore,  has  alone  tlie  right  as  well 
as  the  knowledge  to  declare  what  is  essential  to  true 
feligious  belief,  affection,  and  practice.  It  is  utterly 
absurd  to  suppose  for  a  moment,  or  on  any  plea,  that 
any  man,  or  any  creature,  or  any  combination  of  crea- 
ttires,  can  be  authority  to  us  on  any  matter  between  us 
and  God ;  for  were  we  to  receive  their  testimony,  it 
ipould  be  faith  in  creatures,  not  faith  in  God ;  and  any 
Ijractice  founded  on  such  testimony  would  be  obedience 
to  creatures,  not  obedience  to  God ;  and,  consequently, 
such  faith  and  obedience  would  not  be  any  part  of  true 
religion.  Whatever  faith  it  be  that  stops  short  of  God, 
is  false,  deceiving,  and  destructive.  Even  our  blessed 
Lord,  when  incarnate  as  the  servant-mediator,  claimed 
to  be  trusted  only  on  the  testimony  of  God  the  Father : 
•'If  I  bear  witness  of  myself,  my  testimony  is  not  true. 

There  h  another  that  beareth  witness  of  me 

But  I  receive  not  testimony  from  man And 

Ibe  Father  himself,  which  hath  sent  me,  hath  borne 
witness  of  me."  And,  again,  of  God's  people,  "  It  is 
written  in  the  prophets :  They  shall  be  all  taught  of 
God." 

While,  Ifierefbre,  we  utterly  reject  all  dictates  of 
human  reason  or  of  any  other  creature,  we  should  bow 
unhesitatingly  before  God  as  the  infinitely  true  and  suf- 
ficient Teacher  of  all  religion,  receiving  whatever  he 
declares  to  be  truth,  not  because  it  coincides  with  our 
jeason,  or  because  it  has  the  stamp  of  ecclesiastical 
authority,  but  simply  because  it  is  the  declaration  of 
God.      Lay  this  at  the  foundation  of  your  religious 


Lect.  VIII.] . 


SAVING  FAITH. 


165 


principle,  and  you  are  safe  from  all  the  subtleties  of 
men  or  devils.  "  He  that  believeth  in  him  shall  not  be 
confounded."  Attempt  religion  without  this,  and  "  the 
multitude  of  thoughts  within  "  you  will  be  dark  and 
confused  as  chaos,  before  God  said  "Let  there  be 
light !  " 

b.  Faith  in  the  testimony  of  God.  This  follows  as  a 
logical  and  moral  necessity  from  faith  in  God  as  the 
witness.  We  are  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  God  has 
made  a  revelation  to  us,  and,  if  so,  where  that  revela- 
tion is  to  be  found  ;  after  which  there  is  no  alternative 
but  to  believe  whatever  he  has  been  pleased  to  reveal, 
all  that  he  has  revealed,  and  nothing  beyond  that  he 
has  revealed.  It  were  preposterous  for  us,  who  have 
confessed  that  we  can  know  nothing  of  religion  except 
as  God  makes  it  known  to  us,  to  sit  in  judgment  upon 
the  matter  of  his  teaching,  receiving  this  and  rejecting 
that  portion  of  it,  according  as  it  seems  consistent  or  not 
with  our  reason.  In  acknowledging  God  to  be  the  only 
true  and  sufficient  witness,  we  have  bound  ourselves 
to  beHeve  his  testimony  implicitly  and  unhesitatingly. 
Upon  the  same  principle,  we  may  not  extend  our  re- 
ligious opinions  beyond  what  he  has  taught,  for,  besides 
our  incompetence  to  make  farther  discoveries,  we  can- 
not allow  ourselves,  without  gross  irreverence,  to  sup- 
pose that  God  would  teach  us  imperfectly,  or  keep  back 
anything  which  is  profitable  or  comforting. 

God  has  given  us  a  revelation,  and  that  revelation  is 
found  in  the  sacred  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments. We  may  and  should  exercise  our  reason  in 
judging  of  the  evidences  on  which  the  claim  of  those 
Scriptures  to  be  the  Word  of  God  is  founded  ;  but,  the 
moment  that  we  admit  their  divine  inspiration,  right 


ill 


it 


166 


SAVING  FAITH. 


[Lect.  VIIL 


Lect.  VIII.] 


SAVING  FAITH. 


167 


reason  becomes  faith  in  all  they  declare,  and  in  their 
full  declarations  as  utterly  sufficient  for  our  religious 
science  and  practice.     Of  the  proofs  that  the  Scriptures 
are  the  Word  of  God,  this  is  not  tlie  place,  nor  Iiave 
we  the  time,  now  to  speak.     It  is  enough,  at  present, 
to  say,  that  we  have  historical  testimony  which  puts 
beyond  doubt  the  fact  of  their  having  been  written  by 
holy  men  of  God,  "  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  "  that  such  is  the  incomparable  majesty  of  their 
style,  the  supernatural  elevation  of  their  truths,  the 
admirable  harmony  of  their  parts,  though  published  at 
intervals  by  different  (secondary)   authors,  during    a 
period  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years ;  the  purity 
and  uncompromising  sternness  of  their  moral  sentiments 
and  precepts ;    the   vast    and   salutary   control    which 
they  have  had  upon  the  lives  of  those  who  have  be- 
lieved them,  and  the  nations  through  which  they  have 
been  disseminated,  as  to  rencler  their  ascription  to  any 
source  less  than  divine  a  contradiction  and  absurdity. 
The  Catechism   does  not   argue,  or   even  admit   the 
question ;    it  is  (as  was   shown   in  our  remarks  prefa- 
tory to  the  lesson  of  the  First  Lord's  Day)  addressed  to 
Christians ;  and  every  sincere  Christian  has  in  his  own 
conscious  experience  a  proof,  divinely  given  him  by  the 
testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  his  soul,  stronger  than 
all  other  proofs  beside,  and  one  which  no  arguments  of 
infidelity  can  shake.    "  He  that  believeth  hath  the  wit- 
ness in  himself,"  for  none  but  he  who  made  the  heart 
could  have  promulged  a  scheme  so  adapted  to  its  wants, 
its   weaknesses,  its   temptations,  and   its   immortality. 
The  true  Christian,  therefore,  has,  in  the  language  of 
the   Catechism,    "a   certain    knowledge,    whereby   he 
holds  for  truth  all  that  God  has  revealed  to  us  in  his 


Word."  Not  that  a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  that  is 
taught  in  the  Word  is  absolutely  necessary  to  saving 
faith,  for  the  Christian  is  born  unto  eternal  life  as  a 
little  child,  and  many  are  unfitted,  for  various  reasons, 
to  pursue  the  study  necessary  for  a  thorough  science  of 
divine  religion;  and  such  are  the  infinities  of  truth 
opened  by  the  sacred  writings,  that  no  finite  mind  can 
fathom  them  in  time,  or  even  in  eternity ;  but  every 
true  Christian,  however  simple  or  learned,  believes  the 
main  fundamental  principles  on  which  the  entire  system 
is  built  up,  and  is  ready,  from  his  faith  in  God  the  wit- 
ness, to  receive  with  humble  and  glad  faith  all  that  he 
progressively  ascertains  "  to  be  written  in  the  Scriptures 
for  our  learning."  He  "  grows  in  grace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ." 

€.  Faith  in  the  application  of  the  testimony  to  ourselves. 
"True  faith,"  says  the  Catechism,  "is  not  only  a  cer- 
tain knowledge,  whereby  I  hold  for  truth  all  that  God 
has  revealed  to  us  in  his  Word,  but  also  an  assured 
confidence,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  works  by  the  Gospel 
in  my  heart,  that  not  only  to  others  but  to  me  also,  re- 
mission of  sin,  everlasting  righteousness,  and  salvation 
are  freely  given  of  God,  merely  of  grace  only,  for  the 
sake  of  Christ's  merits." 

The  Catechism  does  not  assert,  as  I  understand  it, 
that  such  "  a  certain  knowledge  whereby  we  hold  for 
truth  all  that  God  has  revealed  to  us  in  his  word,"  can 
exist  in  our  souls  without  an  apprehension  of  that  truth 
for  ourselves,  or  that  a  sinner  can  believe  in  the  grant 
of  Christ's  saving  benefits  to  other  sinners,  while  he 
does  not  believe  in  their  grant  to  him  ;  but,  that  a  per- 
sonal reliance  on  the  Gospel  with  its  promises  is  essen- 
tially necessary  to  a  true  faith,  and  that  without  such 


I 


168 


SAVING  FAITH, 


[Lect.  VIII 


an  application  of  the  Gospel  to  his  particular  case, 
whatever  semblance  of  belief  in  the  Scriptures  a  man 
may  have,  it  is  but  a  semblance  and  not  a  genuine 
Faith.  This  will  appear  at  once,  if  we  consider  the 
vast  importance  of  the  truths  contained  in  the  Scrip- 
tures to  each  sinner  who  knows  the  Gospel.  We  are 
the  sinners  of  whom  the  Scriptures  speak  ;  upon  us  rests 
the  wrathful  curse  of  divine  condemnation  for  time  and 
eternity  ;  to  us  the  only  way  of  escape  from  death,  the 
only  way  of  life,  is  declared;  and  salvation,  though 
provided  for  many,  is  promised  only  to  those  who  be- 
i©ve»  and  to  them  certainly.  "  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting 
life."  Mark  the  change  from  the  noun  of  multitude  to 
the  singular  person,  "  whosoever."  Again  :  "  If  any 
man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink."  The 
church  is  not  saved  in  a  mass,  but  individually.  Faith 
and  repentance  are  personal  acts  ;  pardon  and  life  are 
given  to  persons ;  and,  therefore,  except  a  man  believe, 
and  repent,  and  accept  the  grace  for  himself,  he  does 
not  truly  believe  in  the  Gospel  at  all.  For  a  true  be- 
lief in  such  momentous  declarations  must  be  something 
more  than  a  mere  acknowledgment  that  they  are  truths. 
Except  we  act  upon  them,  except  we  are  convinced  of 
our  own  guilt,  except  we  put  our  trust  in  Christ  as  our 
Saviour,  except  we  forsake  our  sins  and  endeavor  after 
new  obedience,  is  it  not  clear  that  we  have  no  genuine 
belief  of  the  divine  testimony  ?  For  who  can  believe 
in  eternity  and  not  make  preparation  for  it?  Who 
can  believe  in  eternal  punishment,  and  not  strive  to 
escape  it  ?  Who  can  believe  in  eternal  blessedness,  and 
not  strive  to  attain  it  ?     Who  can  believe  that  Christ 


Lect.  VIII.] 


SAVING  FAITH. 


169 


18  able,  willing,  and  ready  to  save  every  one  that  comes 
to  him,  and  not  go  to  him  to  be  saved  ?  I  may  be  told 
that  Julius  Caesar  was  murdered  in  the  Roman  capitol 
nearly  nineteen  hundred  years  ago,  but  whether  I  be- 
lieve it  or  not,  it  will  make  no  difference  in  my  conduct, 
for  his  death  has  no  perceptible  bearing  on  my  welfare ; 
but,  when  God  declares  to  me  that  a  few  years  after 
Caesar's  death,  his  only  begotten  Son  became  incar- 
nate, passed  through  a  life  of  trial  and  righteousness, 
and  died  upon  a  cross,  that  by  the  merits  of  his  substi- 
tuted merits  all  who  put  their  trust  in  him  shall  be 
saved,  but  all  who  reject  him  shall  be  damned  ;  if  I 
truly  believe  the  testimony,  I  will  trust  and  follow  him 
as  my  Saviour ;  but  if  I  profess  to  believe  that  he  is  the 
Saviour  of  other  sinners,  yet  do  not  rely  upon  him  as 
mine,  my  belief  that  he  is  willing  to  save  all  who  be- 
lieve must  come  fatally  short  of  true  faith  in  the  divine 
Word.  This  personal  application  and  apprehension  of 
Christ's  Gospel  is  the  faith  which  unites  us  to  Christ, 
grrafts  us  in  him,  and  makes  the  channel  of  his  saving 
benefits  to  our  souls.  Thus  the  Apostle  exultingly 
says :  "  I  am  crucified  with  Christ,  nevertheless  I  live ; 
vet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me  ;  and  the  life  which 
I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself  for  me."  Not 
that  Christ  died  for  him  only,  or  in  any  exclusive  sense, 
but  that,  because  he  believed  in  Christ,  he  knew  the 
promise  of  salvation  by  Christ  was  applicable  to  him. 
A  thousand  other  scriptural  proofs  might  be  added,  for 
it  is  a  doctrine  running  through  the  whole  Gospel.  So 
sings  the  sweetest  singer  of  modern  Israel :  — 

"  O  love  divine,  how  sweet  thou  art ! 
When  sihall  I  find  this  longing  heart 


1 1 


4 


[Lect.  VIII. 


SAVING  FAITH. 

All  taken  up  by  thee  ? 
For  thee  I  thirst,  I  die  to  prove 
The  sweetness  of  redeeming  love, 

The  love  of  Christ  for  me." 


II.  The  divine  source  from  which  this  faith  is 
derived. 

'*  True  faith,'*  says  the  Catechism,  is  "  an  assured 
confidence,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  works  by  the  Gospel 
in  my  heart." 

1.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  efficient  agent,  and  works 
faith  in  the  heart.  Faith,  as  has  been  said,  is  a  per- 
umal  act,  AH  ex^cise  of  a  man's  own  judgment  and 
will ;  but  sin  has  so  disordered  and  impaired  our  moral 
faculties  as  to  render  us  incapable  of  understanding  or 
relishing  the  truths  of  the  divine  Word  ;  and  as  our 
hearts  are  by  nature  "  enmity  against  God,"  so  they 
lit  avefse  to  all  that  he  reveals.  Ordinary  observa- 
tion shows  that  a  criminal  temper  and  conduct  disin- 
clines a  man  to  hear  whatever  rebukes,  condemns,  or 
threatens  him  ;  renders  him  insensible  to  argument  or 
motive ;  distorts  his  perceptions  ;  preoccupies  his  con- 
victions ;  stupefies  his  conscience ;  and  even  enrages 
kim  against  the  reasoning  and  the  reasoner  on  the 
opposite  side  ;  so  that  we,  without  exaggeration,  pro- 
nounce him  to  be  incompetent  to  think  truly,  or  decide 
jwsify ;  but  much  more  is  this  the  case  with  our  fallen 
nature  in  respect  to  the  principles  of  religion,  which 
are  opposed  to  our  innate  dispositions,  and  the  habits 
of  an  ungodly  life.  Man  lost  by  the  fall  that  spiritual 
likeness  to  God,  which  answered  with  echoing  assent 
every  declaration  of  the  divine  will.  Hence  there 
must  be,  in  order  to  faith,  a  regeneration  or  re-creation 
of  our  natures ;  an  "  enlightening  of  the  eyes  of  our 


Lect.  VIII.] 


SAVING  FAITH. 


171 


understanding "  that  we  "  may  know,"  a  transforma- 
tion by  the  renewing  of  our  minds    "that  we  may 
prove  (learn  by  investigation)  what  is  that  (the)  good, 
and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God."     This  repa- 
ration of  our  moral  faculties  making  us  capable  of 
faith,  is   the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost;   and,  so, 
faith  is  said  to  be  "  wrought  in  us,"  though  we  exert 
the  faith,  or  believe.      Thus :   the  "  Lord  opened  the 
heart "  of  Lydia,  that  she  "  attended  unto  the  things 
which  were  spoken  of  Paul :  "  and  again :  "  No  man 
can  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost;" 
which  corresponds  to  our  Lord's  promise,  that  when 
the  Spirit  of  truth   (before  called  by  him  the  Holy 
Ghost)  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth ; "  and 
the  fact,  that  after  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
at  the  Pentecost,  the  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  over  the 
carnal  prejudices  of  men  began.     The  Apostle  Paul 
sums  up  the  doctrine :  "  By  grace  are  ye  saved  through 
faith  ;  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God ; " 
which  means  that  the  whole  method  of  salvation  through 
faith  is  the  gracious  gift  of  God,  by  the  operations  of 
the  official  agent  in  the  communication  of  grace,  —  the 
Holy  Ghost.     In  fact,  we  can  neither  do  or  be  what  is 
acceptable   to  God,   but  by  the   power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

2.  The  instrument  which  the  Holy  Ghost  employs  to 
work  faith  in  our  hearts  is  "  the  Gospel,"  by  which 
the  Catechism  means  the  whole  Word  of  God.  The 
truth  of  the  Gospel  is  the  testimony  which  we  are  to 
believe  ;  and,  therefore,  faith  cannot  be  wrought  until 
the  word  is  brought  nigh  to  the  soul  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  God  might,  certainly,  fill  the  soul  of  a  man  at 
once,  and  without  any  instrumentality,  with  all   the 


172 


sxtwg  faith. 


[Lect.  VIII. 


Lect.  VIII] 


SAVING  FAITH. 


173 


truths  of  religion,  wRe  m  tie  minds  of  prophets  and 

apostles ;  bnt  that  would  be  inspiration  by  an  act  of 

d.v.ne   sovereignty,  not  faith,  which   is  an  act  of  our 

our  owm    It  is  true,  also,  that  there  is  a  work  of  the 

Holy  Spu-,t  in  the  soul  of  man,  previous  to  his  recep- 

tion  of  the  truth;  but  that  is  rather  a  preparation  of 

the  soar,  a  g,v,ng  to  it  of  a  disposition  to  believe,  than 

mtb  Itself.     But  we  can  hardly  doubt  tliat  there  is  a 

divine  fitness  in  the  Gospel  to  work  this  faith,  when  it 

IS  w^ldecl  by  the  hand  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     The  truths 

ftere  no  fatal  defect  in  the  reasoning  of  men,  convince 
them,   and   constrain    their   belief.      Every  Christian 
knows,  also   by  experience,  that  the  growth  of  bis  soul 
in  spiritual  hfe  is  nourished  by  the  Holy  Ghost  through 
die  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  they  are  admi- 
«My  cafcnlated  for  that  end  ;  so  that  we  may  without 
rashness  believe  the  fitness  of  the  same  Gospel  for  the 
conviction    and    conversion  of  the   impenitent.      The 
manner,  the  arguments,  the  illustrations,  the  very  lan- 
guage of  the  Scripture,  have  been  arranged  and  adapted 
by  the  only  all-wise  Metaphysician  for  the  purpose  of 
^vorkmg  faith  in  the  heart.     Hence  the  main  doctrine 
of  Scripture,    "  Jesus  Christ   and  him  Crucified,"  is 
called,  V  the  Apostle,  "  the  wisdom  of  God,  and  the 
power  of  God  '  unto  salvation  ;  and,  again,  "  the  Word 
ot  God  13  quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than  anv 
two-edged  sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder 
of  soul  and  spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  the  marrow, 
and  IS  a  d.scerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the 
heart ;      that  is,  it  dissects  and  probes  the  heart  to  the 
quick.     The  Apostle  Peter,  also,  makes  the  Word  to  be 
the  hving  seed  by  which  God  begets  his  spiritual  chil- 


dren  150  eternal  life:  "  Being  born  again  not  of  corrupt- 
ible seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the  Word  of  God, 
which  liveth  and  abideth  forever."  This  ascription  of 
divine  adaptedness  to  the  Word  as  the  chosen  instru- 
ment, is  not  opposed  to  the  efficiency  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  the  agent.  An  instrument  can  produce  effect 
only  when  it  is  employed  by  an  intelHgent  agent ;  and 
oftentimes  an  instrument  is  of  such  a  character  that  a 
mighty  and  most  skilful  agent  is  required  to  wield  it, 
which  is  preeminently  the  case  with  the  Word  of  God. 
Because  it  is  the  Word  of  God,  none  but  God  can  em- 
ploy it  effectually.  It  is  a  sword  of  exquisite  keenness, 
but  it  is  the  sword  of  the  Spirit ;  impotent  of  itself,  yet 
powerful  in  his  omnipotent  hand. 

The  source  of  our  faith  is,  therefore,  the  grace  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ ;  and  the 
method  of  his  operation  is  by  the  Gospel,  which  is  the 
doctrine  of  Christ.  Hence  we  learn  the  wisdom  of 
looking  to  Christ  for  the  Spirit  of  faith,  its  Author  and 
Finisher.  "  Lord,  increase  our  faith  !  "  was  the  prayer 
of  the  disciples ;  let  it  be  continually  ours  ;  until  we 
shall  no  more  have  need  even  of  God's  testimonv,  but 
shall  "  see  him  as  he  is,"  "  face  to  face  I  "  And,  also, 
we  learn  to  recognize  as  true  faith,  only  that  which  is 
wrought  in  our  hearts  by  the  Gospel.  All  dreams,  or 
visions,  or  supernatural  intimations  of  any  kind  ;  all 
impressions,  sentiments,  or  impulses  of  our  own  ;  all 
dictates  of  public  opinion,  ecclesiastical  decrees,  or  tra- 
ditions of  men  are  unworthy  of  trust.  These  are  not 
instruments  by  which  the  Spirit  works.  The  sword  of 
the  Spirit  is  the  Word  of  God  alone.  We  believe  God 
and  his  testimony.  We  need  no  more  ;  we  will  take 
no  less. 


'■^  I 


174 


SAVING  FAITH. 


[Lect.  VIII. 


Thirdly  :   The  articles  of  a  true  ChriBtian  faith. 

We  learn  from  the  22d  and  23d  Questions  and  An- 
swers, that  these  are  stated  in  the  admirable  summary 
commonly  called  The  Apostles'  Creed  ;  the  study 
of  which  is,  by  divine  permission,  to  occupy  us  for  the 
next  fifteen  Lord's  Days.  We  shall,  therefore,  reserve 
the  opening  of  it  until  our  next  lesson,  where  it  more 
properly  belongs. 

Practical  Inferences.  —  First :  The  importance 
of  ascertaining  our  union  with  Christ. 

Secondly :  The  necessity  of  a  personal  faith  in  Christ. 

Thirdly :  The  vital  dependence  of  our  souls  for  faith 
on  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Fourthly :  The  duty  and  privilege  of  studying  the 
Word  with  prayer. 


1  '■ 


LECTURE  IX. 


THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD. 


!| 


I  I 


EIGHTH  LORD'S  DAY. 


THE  BEING  AND   UNITY  OF   GOD. 


Quest.  XXIV.     Hoto  are  these  articles  divided  f 

Ans.     Into  three  parts:  The  first  is  of  God  the  Father,  and  our  creation; 

the  second  is  of  God  the  Son,  and  our  redemption ;  the  third  is  of  God 

the  Holy  Ghost,  and  our  sanctification. 
Quest.  XXV.     Since  there  is  only  one  divine  essence,  why  speakest  thou 

oj"  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  f 
Ans.     Because  God  hath  so  revealed  himself  in  his  Word,  that  these  three 

distinct  persons  are  the  one  only  true  and  eternal  God. 

^HE  lesson  of  the  last  Lord's  Day  brought  before  us 
•^  tliat  compend  of  religious  truth,  commonly  known 
as  "  The  Apostles'  Creed ;  "  which,  for  at  least  thirteen 
centuries,  has  been  acknowledged,  formally  or  infor- 
mally, by  all  bodies  of  men,  not  heretical,  calling  them- 
selves Christians,  as  "  a  good  confession.''  The  lesson 
of  to-day  begins  the  commentary  of  our  Church,  in 
its  Catechism,  on  its  several  articles  ;  but,  before  enter- 
ing upon  the  exposition,  it  is  proper  that  some  brief 
notice  should  be  taken  of  the  Creed  itself,  as  a  symbol 
or  declaration  of  belief. 

Here,  and  in  the  "  Form  for  the  administration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,"  it  is  denominated  "  our  Catholic, 
undoubted  Christian  Faith,"  or  summarv  confession  of 
faith.  Christian,  because  it  distinguishes  our  only  true 
religion  from  every  false  religion,  the  doctrine  of  salva- 
tion by  Christ  being  its  grand,  peculiar  characteristic ; 
undoubted,  because  as  a  whole,  and  in  its  several  par- 
ticulars, it  is  derived  from  the  sure  and  complete  testi- 
mony of  God's  most  holy  word  ;  Catholic,  because  it  is 


VOL.    I. 


12 


M 


f  i  -i 


THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD.       [Lect.  IX. 

|he  faith  of  all  true  Christians  of  all  ages,  and  through- 
out the  world. 

It  takes  its  name  of  Creed  or  Belief  from  the  Latin 
verb  Credo^  at  the  beginning,  the  translation  of  which 
is  •*  I  believe  ; "  and  we  do  not  refuse  to  call  it  "  The 
Apostles'  Creed,"  because  it  sets  forth  the  doctrine 
which  is  authoritatively  recorded  for  the  faith  of  the 
Church  in  the  books  of  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  Church  of  Rome,  however,  misinterpreting 
and  misquoting  the  language  of  some  eminent  and 
ancient  doctors  or  fathers,  and  adding  gross  inventions 
of  its  own,  has  claimed  for  the  Creed  that  its  very 
|bnn  was  actually  the  joint  work  of  the  apostles  them- 
selves ;  and  that,  before  separating  on  their  different 
missions,  they  determined  to  frame  a  common  symbol 
by  which  the  disciples  of  each  might  be  recognized  by 
the  disciples  of  the  others,  and  the  unity  of  faith  be 
preserved,  each  apostle  contributing  an  article,  thus 
making  up  the  twelve  as  we  find  them ;  or,  if  Paul 
and  Barnabas  were  among  the  compositors,  fourteen, 
as  the  division  is  sometimes  made.  This  fable  has 
been  incautiously  received  and  reasserted  by  some 
Protestants,  but  ought  to  be  utterly  repudiated  as 
imlbfmded  and  mischievous.  For  it  is  incredible  that 
so  important  a  transaction  as  the  provision  of  a  Creed 
for  the  whole  Church,  combining  the  inspiration  of 
the  apostolical  college,  should  receive  no  notice  from 
the  historian  Luke,  or  any  other  sacred  writer  ;  yet  no 
mention  of  it  is  made  anywhere  in  the  New  Testament, 
Sor  does  the  document  itself  anywhere  appear,  there 
being  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  it.  All  along  down 
^  Augustine,  himself  included,  the  early  doctors  set 


Lect.  IX.J       THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD. 


179 


forth  nothing  else  than  the  canonical  books  of  Scrip- 
ture as  the  rule  of  faith ;  nor  can  we  find  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  as  we  have  it,  earlier,  at  the  earliest,  than  toward 
the  end  of  the  fourth  century.  Parts  of  it,  indeed,  did 
appear,  and  it  was  gradually  increasing  to  its  complete 
form ;  but  its  full  consistency  cannot  be  discovered 
until  about  the  time  just  stated.  Therefore  do  we 
believe  the  doctrines  of  the  Creed,  not  because  they  are 
contained  in  the  Creed,  which,  as  to  its  form,  is  an  un- 
inspired and  human  document,  but  because  they  are 
the  doctrines  of  the  Word  of  God.  At  the  same  time 
that  w^e  deny  divine  inspiration  to  the  Creed,  we  rejoice 
in  receiving  it  as  the  most  condensed,  comprehensive, 
and  scriptural  digest,  or  abridgment,  of  Christian 
truth  framed  by  human  hands;  and  fully  adopt  the 
encomium  pronounced  on  it  by  St.  Augustine  :  "  It  is 
a  perfect  compend  of  our  faith,  simple,  brief,  full ;  its 
simplicity  adapted  to  ordinary  minds;  its  brevity  to 
our  memories  ;  its  fulness  to  the  entire  doctrine."  May 
God  make  our  belief  of  it  clear,  strong,  and  entire ! 

Let  us  now  consider  the  lesson  proper  to  this  Lord's 
Day,  which  consists  of:  — 

First  :  A  Division  of  the  Creed  into  three  parts. 

Twenty-fourth  Question  and  Answer. 

Secondly:   The  fundamental  doctrine  of  One  God  in 
Three  Persons,  which  is  the  substance  of  the  whole. 

Twenty-fifth  Question  and  Answer. 

First.     A  Division  of  the  Creed  into  three  parts :  — 

The  First,  of  God  the  Father,  and  our  Creation  ; 

The  Second,  of  God  the  Son,  and  our  Redemption  ; 

The  Third,  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  our  Sancti- 
fication. 

The  mission  of  the  Church  of  God  to  preach  the 


I 


I 


180 


THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD.       [I.kct.  IX 


Lect.  IX.]         THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD. 


181 


Gospel  throughout  the  world  required  that  it  should 
be  presented  before  the  world  in  an  outward,  visible 
organization,  for  which  was  necessary  some  public  cere- 
mony of  separation,  and  a  distinct  avowal  of  faith  to 
distinguish  its  members  from  unbelieving  men.  It, 
therefore,  might  have  been  expected  that  the  Head  of 
the  Church  would  himself  prescribe  both  the  ceremony 
and  the  form  of  the  confession,  which  he  did  when, 
giving  the  apostles  his  parting  injunction,  he  said  :  "  Go 
ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Baptism,  or  the  application  of  water  to 
the  person  of  the  candidate,  was  the  ceremony  by 
which  the  Church  acknowledged  him  as  a  believer,  and 
admitted  him  to  her  fellowship.  The  doctrine  which 
he  professed,  and  which  was  set  forth  as  the  common 
belief  of  the  whole  Church,  is  stated  in  the  formula 
accompanying  the  administration  of  the  ordinance.  It 
matters  little  whether  the  person  to  be  baptized  himself 
tittered  the  words:  "  I  believe  in  the  Father,  and  in 
the  Son,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost ; "  or  the  administra- 
tor, when  pronouncing  the  formula,  thereby  openly  sig- 
nified that  the  confession  had  been  given  in  to  him 
more  privately  ;  though  it  seems  from  several  Scrip- 
tures probable  that  "  confession  "  was  made  "  with  the 
mouth,"  publicly,  at  the  time.  The  fact  of  his  submit- 
ting to  baptism  administered  to  him  with  the  formula, 
was  a  confession  of  his  faith  symbolized  by  those  words. 
This,  then,  was  the  first  form  of  the  Christian  Creed, 
and  its  three  parts,  the  triple,  yet  united,  foundation  of 
all  Christian  belief.  The  instruction  which  he  was  to 
receive  was  not  to  be  confined  within  the  few  words 
tj£ Ibi,  formula ;    our  Lord  enjoined  that  all   nations 


should  be  taught  to  "  observe  all  things  whatsoever  he 
had  commanded"  the  apostolical  teachers;  but  the 
formula  gives  the  three  heads  under  which  the  more 
particular  developments  of  the  inspired  scriptural  doc- 
trine should  be  arranged.  Hence,  the  early  churches, 
finding  it  necessary  to  guard  against  heretical  miscon- 
ceptions and  unauthorized  novelties,  rendered  their 
creeds  more  specific  and  nice,  by  parenthetical  inser- 
tions, but  preserved  the  order  of  the  original  symbol ; 
and  gradually  the  creed  grew  into  the  shape  which  it 
now  has,  and  was  adopted  really,  if  not  by  express 
declaration,  as  the  creed  of  the  Church  universal.  Our 
Catechism,  therefore,  follows  the  organic  division. 

The  supplementary  titles  of  the  three  several  parts, 
viz :  Of  our  Creation,  Of  our  Redemption,  Of  our 
Sanctification,  are  added,  partly  because  that  is  the 
order  of  the  Divine  works  concerning  us,  and  espe- 
cially because  the  Scriptures  represent  Creation  as  the 
official  work  of  the  Father,  the  First  Person  of  the 
Godhead ;  Redemption  as  the  official  work  of  the  Son, 
the  Second  Person  ;  Sanctification  as  the  oflScial  work 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Third  Person  ;  but  it  must  not 
be  inferred  that  these  divine  adorable  Persons  operated 
each  alone  when  performing  their  official  works,  since 
Creation  is  ascribed  also  to  the  Son  as  the  eternal 
Word,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  efficient  Agent ; 
Redemption  also  to  the  Father,  who  sent  the  Son,  and 
to  the  Holy  Ghost  who  prepared  and  sealed  the  Im- 
manuel  for  his  mediatorship  ;  and  Sanctification  also  to 
the  Father,  who  grants  grace  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
to  the  Son,  at  whose  intercession  the  gi'ace  is  given ; 
all  which  will  be  fully  shown  hereafter. 

Secondly.  Tke  fundamental  doctrine  underlying  the 


!  I 


182 


THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD.        [Lkct.  IX. 


whole  Creeds  which  is  :  The  existence  of  one  God  in  three 
Persons, 

An  inquirer  after  truth  might  well  put  the  question 
here  suggested : 

"  Since  there  is  but  one  only  divine  essence,  why 
speakest  thou  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  ?  "  But 
the  answer  is  readily  given  on  the  best  authority : 

"  Because  God  hath  so  revealed  himself  in  his  word 
that  these  three  distinct  Persons  are  the  one  only  true 
and  eternal  God." 

Here  are  three  things  stated:  I.  There  is  a  God. 
n.  There  is  only  one  God.  Ill,  There  are  three  dis- 
tinct Persons  in  the  one  only  and  true  God. 

I.  There  is  a  God.  The  word  God  is  a  radical 
found  in  several  languages,  (Persic,  Goda;  Hindu, 
Choda ;  Icelandic,  Godi ;  German,  Gott ;)  signifying 
One  above  all,  or  The  Supreme.  Many  false  or  imag- 
inary beings  have  been  called  and  worshipped  as  gods 
by  men  ;  but  that  is  not  a  true  belief  in  God,  which  is 
not  belief  in  the  true  God.  Hence  the  Apostle  denom- 
inated the  Gentiles  of  his  day  Atheists,  or,  as  our  trans- 
lation  has  it,  "  without  God  "  ;  because,  though  they 
cultivated  very  many  false  gods,  they  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  him.  who  alone  is  God.  It  is  requisite,  there- 
fore, that  we  understand  what  is  meant  by  the  word 
God ;  and  the  best  definition  we  can  give  of  God  is : 
The  self-existent,  intelligent  First  Cause  of  all  things. 
Our  Church,  in  commanding  us  to  lecture  on  this  sec- 
tion, did  not  require  an  elaborate  proof  of  its  several 
propositions,  as  that  would  be  far  beyond  the  compass 
of  a  single  Lord's  Day ;  but  only  that  we  should  fairly 
present  them  preparatory  to  subsequent  discussion.  We 
must,  then,  be  as  succinct  as  possible.     That  there  is  a 


h 


V 


Lect.  IX.]        THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD. 


183 


God  we  know  from  his  own  declaration  of  himself; 
and  from  the  existence  of  things  constituting  what  is 
called  nature. 

A.  From  his  own  declaration  of  himself.  The  fact 
that  we  have  the  idea  of  God  demonstrates  in  the 
highest  degree  both  that  he  is  and  that  our  knowledge 
of  him  is  derived  from  himself.  The  idea  of  God, 
according  to  the  definition  we  have  given,  or,  as  set 
forth  by  the  Scriptures,  is  infinitely  above  human  im- 
agination, and  utterly  beyond  the  scope  of  any  argu- 
ment human  reason  could  frame.  It  has  never  had 
place  in  men's  minds,  except  where  divine  revelation 
has  communicated  it ;  while  the  tendency  of  mankind, 
always  and  everywhere,  except  when  restrained  and 
enlightened  by  divine  grace,  has  been  to  ignore  and 
degrade  it.  Men  without  revelation  have  worshipped 
false  gods,  and  attempted  to  demonstrate  their  exist- 
ence, but  they  have  never  reached  the  idea  of  the 
true  God.  Therefore,  since  man  could  neither  invent 
nor  discover  the  grand  idea,  it  must  have  been  made 
known  to  us,  and  that  by  God  himself.  "  The  world 
by  wisdom,''  i,  g.,  by  its  unassisted  reason,  "  knew  not 
God,"  asserts  the  Apostle.  He  cannot  "  by  searching 
find  out  God,"  L  e.,  "  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  per- 
fection." That  men  in  all  ages  and  countries  have  had 
some  notion  of  a  superior  being  or  beings  whom  they 
called  God  or  gods,  does  not  impugn  our  position, 
because  their  vague  belief  may  very  well  be,  and  we 
learn  from  Scripture  is,  a  corrupted  tradition  from  the 
fathers  of  the  race  to  whom  God  made  himself  known. 
(Romans  i.  19 .) 

To   this   revelation  of  himself,  God  has  added  the 
irresistible  evidence  of  his  works  ;  for 


k  \ 


f 


!    I 


Tflf  mmQ  4|SP  UNITY  OF  GOD.        [Lkct.  IX. 

B.  The  existence  of  tMngs  can  be  acconnted  for 
only  by  the  existence  of  God.  We  know  that  things 
do  exist  in  that  order  and  consistency  which  we  call 
nature  ;  therefore,  they  must  have  always  existed,  or 
they  must  have  come  into  existence  by  chance,  or  they 
must  have  been  caused  to  exist  by  the  great,  self-exist- 
ent, intelligent  Being,  whom  it  becomes  us  to  acknowl- 
edge and  worship  as  God. 

That  the  present  frame  of  things  has  existed  always 
is  disproved  by  all  analogy.  In  all  the  processes  of 
nature  we  see  none  occur  but  what  follows  some  prece- 
dent which  we  call  cause,  but  the  effective  power  is  not 
in  that  proximate  cause,  for  that  cause  is  itself  an  effect 
of  a  cause  which  is  again  an  effect,  and  so  link  by  link 
we  trace  the  chain  backward.  There  must  be  an  orio"- 
inal,  uncaused  energy  working  through  all  these  causes 
all  these  effects  ;  for  th©  irst  cause  must  be  antecedent 
to  nature,  above  nature,  and  independent  of  nature. 
Again  :  There  is  motion  producing  change  in  things  as 
they  exist.  But  matter  of  itself  is  inert ;  it  does  not 
move  except  from  some  force  applied  to  it  from  without 
Itself.  There  must,  therefore,  be  a  cause  of  motion,  a 
source  of  impulse,  a  power  determining  change,  above 
and  antecedent  to  all  things  that  suffer  change.  Yet 
again :  This  motion  and  change  are  regulated  by  cer- 
tain laws,  many  of  which  are  discovered,  and  these 
laws  cooperate  in  the  nicest  adjustment  to  each  other ; 
this  system  of  laws  indicates  design,  there  must,  there- 
fore, be  a  designer,  or  an  intelligent  cause,  whose  will  is 
the  supreme  law  antecedent  to  all  these  laws. 

The  supposition  that  things  as  they  exist  came  into 
existence  by  chance,  is  as  irrational  as  that  they  never 
had  a  beginning,  and  for  the  same  reasons.     We  have 


Lect.  IX.]         THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD. 


185 


no  knowledge  of  such  a  thing  as  chance.  Law  is  pres- 
ent always  and  everywhere,  and  he  is  a  most  ignorant 
fool  who  ascribes  any  change  to  chance.  How  then 
could  the  entire  system  originate  by  chance?  There 
is  evident  design  in  all  things  ;  but  design  indicates 
purpose,  and  purpose  supposes  intelligence;  and  an 
intelligent  directing  will  can  tolerate  no  chance. 

If  a  printer  were  to  enter  his  office  in  the  morning, 
and  find  that  the  types  which  he  had  left  in  confusion 
the  night  before  were  so  arranged  that  an  impression 
taken  from  them  presented  to  the  reader  a  clear,  pro- 
found, metaphysical  argument,  he  would  laugh  to  scorn 
the  supposition  that  it  was  the  result  of  mere  chance. 
How  much  less  than  folly  is  the  notion  that  the  won- 
derful system  of  nature,  and  above  all  of  man  able  to  set 
types  and  write  metaphysics,  have  come  into  existence 
by  chance  ? 

We  are  thus  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  cardinal 
truth  on  which  the  whole  system  set  forth  by  the  Scrip- 
tures is  based,  that  in  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth. 

Let  us,  however,  press  the  argument  a  little  farther. 
Every  one  who  reflects  at  all,  must  be  conscious,  that 
although  in  some  sense,  and  to  some  extent,  he  is  free, 
he  is  at  the  same  time  under  a  control  from  without 
himself  which  he  cannot  resist  or  escape.  This  con- 
•  nousness,  strongest  in  strongest  minds,  is  so  universal, 
that  those  so-called  philosophers  who  have  denied  the 
being  or  government  of  God,  substitute  necessity  or 
fate  in  his  place ;  or,  if  they  call  it  chance,  it  amounts 
to  the  same  thing,  for  a  blind  chance  over  which  we 
had  no  power,  would  be  fate  or  necessity  to  us ;  but 
this  necessity  clearly  works  through  laws ;  there  must, 


I  ill 


I 


!■' 


186 


THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD.        [LfcCT.  IX. 


therefore,  be  a  supreme  intelligent  will  presiding  over 
our  intelligent  wills,  regulating  the  issues  of  all  human 
agencies.  Besides,  we  cannot  deny  that  there  are 
moral  truths  distinguishable  from  those  which  are  nat- 
uimlf  that  is,  which  concern  physical  facts.  As  beings 
possessed  of  affections  and  reason,  we  are  bound  to  each 
other  by  certain  relations ;  these  relations  are  under 
lawsi  conformity  to  which  we  denominate  right ;  vio- 
Iftittn  rf  which,  wrong.  We  have  notions  of  right 
and  wrong,  by  which  we  approve  ourselves  when 
we  do  right,  and  condemn  ourselves  when  we  do 
wrong.  We  also  see  a  connection  between  right  and 
liappiness,  wrong  and  unhappiness.  There  may  be 
differences  of  opinion  on  minor  points,  but  in  the  essen- 
tial, the  sense  of  mankind  is  so  general  that  there  is  no 
community  without  laws  to  punish  wrong  in  order  that 
the  common  welfare  may  be  defended  from  the  criminal 
selfishness  of  individuals.  Whence,  then,  comes  this 
moral  system,  the  fact  of  which  we  confess,  and  the 
operation  of  which  we  imitate,  if  not  from  a  moral 
source  original,  independent,  and  sovereign  ?  The  idea 
of  God  is  absolutely  necessary  to  our  satisfaction.  If 
there  be  no  God,  the  universe  is  without  superintend- 
ence, order,  or  government.  There  is  no  guide  for  our 
actions,  no  certainty,  no  right,  no  wrong,  no  truth,  no 
hope.  The  soul  of  man  is  without  security  or  satisfac- 
tion. Matter  reverts  to  chaos,  humanity  is  fatherless, 
and  virtue  with  all  her  attendant  train  of  blessings,  a 
vjiioii  fair  but  unsubstantial  as  a  poet's  dream.  God 
has  pervaded  the  universe  with  the  divinity  of  its  origioi 
and  planted  in  our  very  being  the  necessity  of  his  own. 

II.  There  is  only  one  God. 

"  We  know,"  writes  the  Apostle  to  his  Corinthian 


Lkct.  IX.]        THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD. 


187 


brethren,  "that  an  idol  is  nothing  in  the  world,  and  that 
there  is  none  other  God  but  one."     Evident  as  this 
appears  to  us,  it  was  then  a  new  doctrine  at  Corinth 
and  throughout  the  inhabited  earth  except  in  Judea. 
There  is  not  in  all  Christian  lands  a  single  sceptic  who 
would  assert  a  plurality  of  gods,  or  regard  such  an 
hypothesis  as  less  than  absurd.     Yet  the  overwhelming 
fact  is  indisputable  that  the  very  large  majority  of  man- 
kind, from  the  farthest  times  down  to  the  present  day, 
have  been  polytheists,  worshippers  of  more  gods  than 
one.     The  gods  of  the  classical  nations  were  'innumer- 
able, as  are  now  the  gods  of  Asia  and  Africa.    The  unity 
of  God  has  never  been  taught  but  by  revelation,  and  is 
the   belief  which   distinguishes  Jews,  Christians,   and 
Mohammedans,  from  the  heathen  who  fill  the  rest  of 
the  world.     It  should  not,  therefore,  be  considered  use- 
less for  us  to  examine  and  declare  the  grounds  of  our 
belief,  especially  as  we  who  hold  the  adorable  mystery 
of  the  Trinity  to  be  an  essential  part  of  the  Christian 
system,  (Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and 
to  the  Holy  Ghost,  Amen  !)  have  been  accused  of 
denying  the  unity  of  God  by  some  who  arrogate  to 
themselves  the  name  of  Unitarian,  which   belongs  as 
truly  to  us  as  does  that  of  Trinitarian.     Our  exposition 
shall,  however,  be  as  brief  as  is  consistent  with  clear- 
ness. 

By  the  unity  of  God,  we  mean  that  there  is  one  and 
one  only  Being,  to  whom  the  name  of  God  should  be 
given,  the  works  of  God  ascribed,  the  perfections  of 
God  attributed,  and  the  worship  of  God  rendered. 
This  we  assert. 

I.  From  the  Scriptures,  which,  because  they  teach 
the  original  and  only  clear  notion  of  the  divine  exist- 


188 


THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD.        [Lect.  IX. 


ence,  are  worthy  of  the  highest  credence  in  all  that 
relates  to  the  nature  of  God. 

a.  God  asserts  it  of  himself.  His  first  command- 
ment is :  "  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me.*' 
The  name  by  which  he  declared  himself  to  Israel  is 
sublimely  significant  of  both  unity  and  eternal  exist- 
ence :  ''lam  that  lam:'  He  identifies  himself  as  the 
'■mm  God  with  the  Creator :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  that 
created  the  heavens,  God  himself  that  formed  the  earth 
mii  made  it ;  he  hath  established  it,  he  created  it  not 
in  vain,  he  formed  it  to  be  inhabited  :  I  am  the  Lord, 
and  there  is  none  else ;  "  also  with  the  Judge  and 
Saviour  of  all  men :  "  There  is  no  God  else  beside  me  ; 
a  just  God  and  a  Saviour ;  there  is  none  beside  me ; 
Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  for  I  am  God  and  there  is  none  else  ; "  as 
the  Lord  of  providence  :  "  I  girded  thee,  though  thou 
liaal  iiot  known  me ;  that  they  may  know  from  the 
rising  of  the  sun,  and  from  the  west,  that  there  is  none 
beside  me.  I  am  the  Lord,  and  there  is  none  else  ; " 
and  so  with  i*egard  to  every  distinct  attribute  and 
operation  of  God. 

ft.  His  inspired  worshippers  throughout  the  Book, 
adore  him  as  the  one  only  God.  Moses  says  :  "  Hear, 
O  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord ;  "  David : 
"  Thou  art  God  alone ;  "  all  the  prophets  of  the  Old, 
and  all  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  combine  in 
declaring  the  oneness  of  God  as  the  chamcteristic  be- 
lief of  Jews  and  Christians ;  but  why  should  we  mul- 
tiply quotations  when  our  divine  Master  sums  up  the 
scriptural  testimony,  saying :  "  This  is  life  eternal, 
that  they  might  know  thee  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  sent." 


Lect.  IX.]         THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD. 


189 


II.  We  assert  it  from  reason. 

a.  It  is  a  rule  of  sound  philosophy  to  rest  satisfied 
with  one  sufficient  cause  for  an  effect ;  if,  therefore,  the 
God  of  the  Bible  with  his  boundless  attributes  be,  as  he 
is,  infinitely  suflScient  for  the  causation  of  all  thino^,  it 
were  absurd  to  inquire  further.     The  only  objection  to 
this  having  the  shadow  of  plausibility  is  taken  from  the 
actual  existence  of  evil  within  the  dominion  of  the  Su- 
preme   Good,   which    difficulty,  felt   by   all   reflectino- 
minds,  gave  rise  to  the  most  ancient    extra-scriptural 
philosophy,  that  which  recognized  two  contending  prin- 
ciples, the  good  and  the  evil.     The  answer  to  this  is, 
that  although  the  good  cannot   be   supposed  to  have 
produced  evil  immediately,  yet  it  sprung  from  the  free- 
dom necessarily  given  to  his  moral  creatures!     Besides, 
evil  is  so  intermingled  with  the  good,  that  it  could  not 
have  existed  but  through  the  permission  of  the  Divine 
good ;  since  none  can  doubt  that  he  who  has  ordained 
with  such  wisdom  the  economy  of  things  mi^^ht,  had 
he  chosen,  have  excluded  evil ;  and,  in  fact,  no  advo- 
cate of  the  dualistic  system  (that  of  The  Two  Princi- 
ples) from  the  eariy  followers  of  the  Persic  Zoroaster, 
down  to  the  Manichean  heretics,  ever  doubted  the  ulti- 
mate triumph  of  good  over  the  evil,  or  the  real  suprem- 
acy of  the  good. 

b.  The  infinity  of  the  perfections  attributed  to  God, 
excludes  the  possibility  of  more  than  one  God,  since 
there  cannot  be  more  than  one  infinity.  For  instance, 
omnipotence  excludes  all  other  power  not  derived 
from  and  controlled  by  itself;  omnipresence,  all  ex- 
istence not  within  itself;  omniscience,  all  knowledge 
without  itself.  To  suppose  anything  external  to  the 
divine   causation    or  comprehension,    is   to   deny   that 


190 


THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD.       [Lect.  IX. 


Lect.  IX.]        THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD. 


191 


I 


lit! 


infinity  to  God  which  is  essential  to  the  veiy  idea  of 
God. 

Cf  The  unity  of  the  system  of  things,  called  for  that 
reason  the  universe,  demands  our  faith  in  one  supreme 
will.  Law  is  present  everywhere,  holding  all  the 
smallest  and  the  greatest,  the  nearest  and  the  farthest, 
in  a  irrand  harmonious  whole.  There  is  a  countless 
variety  of  operations,  the  invariable  order  of  which  we 
call  laws ;  but  when  we  observe  closely,  we  see  these 
laws  coalescing  into,  or  combined  under,  fewer  laws, 
those  under  still  fewer,  until  we  reach  the  necessity  of 
cut  highest  law  combining  all,  the  will  of  that  One 
whom  we  adore  as  GimL 

d.  Analogy  confirms  this  reasoning  ;  for  in  every 
arrangement  of  things  there  must  be  some  presiding 
head  ;  ultimate  power  must  exist  somewhere  ;  govern- 
ment must  be  supreme.  It  is  so  in  all  human  systems ; 
il  must  be  in  that  system  which  comprehends  all  sys- 
tems. 

e.  Moral  duty  (without  which  there  is  neither  right 
nor  wrong,  virtue  nor  vice)  must  have  a  supreme 
object.  No  man  can  serve  two  masters ;  yet  from  the 
multitude  and  variety  of  human  relations,  if  we  have 
not  one  master  in  God,  we  cannot  know  what  duty  is. 
Duties  may  clash  with  duties,  and  so  cease  to  be  duties ; 
there  must  be  one  highest  duty  comprehending  all 
duties,  our  duty  to  him  who  is  the  one  Lord  of  all. 

/.  The  wisest  part  of  mankind,  those  who  feel  the 
logical  necessity  of  following  premises  to  conclusion, 
have  been  compelled,  in  effect,  to  acknowledge  one  Su- 
preme. Even  while  dividing  their  worship  among  a 
multitude  of  deities,  there  has  been  traceable  in  their 
systems,  popular  or  philosophical,  a  dependence  from  a 


supreme   original.      The  leading   theological   problem 
(of  Proclus),  "  There  is  unity  in  all  multiplicity,"  was 
admitted  by  all  the  theistical  sects.      Hence,  though 
shrinking  from  what  they  deemed  the  impiety  of  giving 
a  name  or  even  a  mode  of  being  to  the  Head  of  all, 
they  called  Him  T^  'Ev,  or  The  One ;  and  he  was  the 
ultimate  truth  of  all  their  speculations  and  mysteries. 
Even  among  the  multitudinous  idolatries  of  Hinduism, 
the  Brahminical  books  dimly  but  really  acknowledge 
an  original  source  of  all  things,  though  they  worship 
him  not,  and  his  existence  is  rather  an  unavoidable 
physical  fact  than  a  religious  truth.      In  fact,  idolatry 
has  never  been  so  much  a  denial  of  the  One  God,  as 
a  perversion  of  his  worship,  and  a  profane  subdivision 
of  his  authoritative  power  under  many  names.     They 
could  not  escape  from  the  idea  of  the  One  God  altogeth- 
er; but  they  put  as  many  false  shadows  between  them 
and  his   all-seeing   eye,-  as  their  sensual   imaginations 
could  invent.      "  They  changed  the  truth  of  God  into 
a  lie." 

Let  us,  then,  ever  devoutly  remember  the  great 
goodness  of  God  in  giving  us  a  clear  revelation  of 
himself  in  his  holy  Scriptures,  without  which,  lefl  to 
the  iinperfections  of  our  own  minds  and  the  worse 
seductions  of  our  sensual  hearts,  we  could  never  have 
known  him  aright  or  offered  him  the  worship  that  is  his 
due.  It  is  to  the  Bible  that  we  owe  that  which  distin- 
guishes us  from  the  heathen,  who  bow  down  to  images 
their  own  hands  have  made ;  and  only  in  the  study  of 
those  Scriptures  can  we  approach  that  Light  which  is 
the  life  of  the  soul. 

Let  us  remember  that  the  essence  of  idolatry  is  an 
unwillingness  to  retain  God  in  our  imaginations ;  and 


i 


Iff 


i 


I 


f 


192 


THE  BEING  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD.         [Lect.  IX. 


that  when  we  forget  God,  to  place  our  trust,  or  to 
make  the  object  of  our  conduct,  other  than  in  God 
alone,  we  are  as  really  idolaters  as  the  heathen  who 
worship  false  gods,  though  far  more  guilty,  because 
without  their  excuse. 

And  above  all,  let  us  remember  that  we  cannot  ap- 
proach God  or  know  him  aright,  but  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  the  only  Mediator  between  God  and  man.  "  I 
am  the  Way,  and  the  Truth,  and  the  Life,"  saith  the 
Lord ;  "  No  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me." 
"Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  shall  we  go  but  unto 
thee  ?  " 


V 


f      I 


■I 
ft    I 


LECTURE  X. 


I 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED. 


VOL.   I. 


13 


i 

f 


EIGHTH  LORD'S   DAY. 

THE  DOCTRINE   OF   THE   TRINITY 

STATED. 

TTAVING  in  our  last  discourse  enforced  the  funda- 
-*-*■  mental  truths,  I.  That  there  is  a  God  ;  II.  That 
there  is  only  one  God  ;  we  now  come  to  the  third 
division  of  our  suhject,  which  embraces  the  all-impor- 
tant doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 

III.  There  are  three  distinct  Persons,  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  one  true  and  only  God. 
^  In  the  proper  places,  as  we  proceed  with  our  expo- 
sition of  the  Catechism,  we  shall  show  out  of  Scrip- 
ture, that  the  Father  is  God  (Ninth  Lord's  Day)  ; 
that  the  Son  is  God  (Thirteenth  Lord's  Day)  ;  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  God  (Twentieth  Lord's  Day)  ;  from 
which,  since  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  there  is 
only  one  God,  it  must  follow  irresistibly  that  thtse 
three.  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  coexist  or  subsist 
in  the  one  God  and  as  one  God.  Now,  however,  our 
aim,  as  required  by  the  part  of  the  Catechism  under 
consideration,  is  to  show  what  we  mean  by  this  subsist- 
ence of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  in  One  God  ; 
and  this,  not  only  for  the  confirmation  of  our  faith,  but 
also  for  the  vindication  of  the  doctrine  from  the  false 
charcres  which  ignorance  or  malice  have  brought 
against    it. 

Let  no  one  turn  away  from  this  discussion,  as  though 
the  doctrine  were  a  mere  technical  mysticism,  having 
no  important  bearing  upon  Christian  belief,  sentiment, 


I't 


196  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TKINITY  STATED.      [Lect.  X. 

I>r  practice.      Our  Lord  commands  his  disciples  first  to 
••teach  all  nations,"  and  then  to  baptize  the  converts 
to  his  Gospel ;  and  the  formula  to  be  used  in  Baptism 
(••In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost ")  shows  that  the  Gospel  consists  of 
the  true  doctrine  concerning  the  Father,  and  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  not  of  the  Father  only,  but  also 
of  the  Son,  and  also  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  not  of  the 
Three  only  as  One,  but  also  of  each  of  the  Three  as 
distinguished  from  the  other  two;    so  that  any  error 
respecting  the  doctrine  of  any  one  of  the  Three  is  fatal 
to  a  Christian  belief.      For  example:    If  the  Father 
only  be  God,  and  we  ascribe  divine  honors  to  the  Son 
or  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  are  guilty  of  giving  to  others 
the  homage  due  to  God  only ;  but,  if  the  Son  be  God 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  be  God,  and  we  worship  not  the 
Son  as  God,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  as  God,  we  deny  to 
the  Son  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost  the   divine   homage 
which  is  their  separate  due.     On  each  side  we  run  into 
sin  mortally  offensive  to  God.      Again  :  If  these  three 
names  be  only  different  titles  of  the  same  object,  as 
that  the  Father  is  the  same  as  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Son  the  same  as  the  Father  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  Father  and  the  Son,  each 
of  the  Three  not  distinct  from  each  of  the  other  two, 
and  we  worship  each  of  the  Three  as  God,  we  are  verily 
guilty  of  worshipping  three  gods,  which  is  a  blasphe- 
mous  folly  ;  but,  if  God  has  revealed  himself  as  distinct  in 
Three,  —  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  — and  demands 
that  homage  be  rendered  to  Father,  to  Son,  and  to 
Holy  Ghost,  as  distinct  in  some  real  not  nominal  sense, 
then,  by  refusing  this  distinct  homage  to  each  or  any 
one  of  the  divine  Three,  we  refuse  to  worship  him  in 


1 


Lect.  X.]      DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED.  I97 

the  manner  he  requires,  confounding  wliat  he  declare? 
is  distinct  in  his  divine  nature. 

Besides,  the  Scriptures  clearly  show  that  this  distinc- 
tion of  Tliree,  —  Father,  Son,  and   Holy  Ghost,  —  in 
One  God,  is  not  a  mere  technical  mysticism,  but  that  it 
underlies  all  tlie  doctrines  of  salvation,  pervading  them 
with  a  divine  energy,  which,  if  they  lacked,  they^would 
lose  all  warrant  for  our  trust ;    since  not  only  would 
many  scriptural  statements  res])ecting  the  processes  of 
redemption  be  utterly  inexplicable,  but  also  without  the 
divinity  of  the  Son  there  can  be  no  sufficient  ground 
for  a  vicarious  atonement,  and  without  the  divinity  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  there  would  be  no  efficient  agent  for  our 
new  birth  and  internal  sanctification  ;  and  we  should  re- 
vert to  a  faith,  if  faith  it  could  be  called,  in  a  God  with- 
out a  Mediator,  through  whom  the  sinner  may  approach 
liim  and  a  quickening  Power  by  whose  help  we  may  as- 
cend the  living  way  to  life  eternal.    Experience  confirms 
this  in  a  most  melancholy  manner;  for  those  who  are  so 
unhappy  as  to  deny  the  proper  divinity  of  the  Son  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  have   with   scarcely  an  exception 
rejected  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  the  blood  of  Jesus 
and  of  a  spiritual  regeneration  by  the  divine  inworking.' 
They  may  use  the  terms,  but,  if  so,  in  a  sense  utterly 
apart  from  that  of  the  evangelical  Scriptures  ;  nor  will 
hey  deny  that  an  error  here  on  either  side  must  go 
through  all  the  Christian  system.  ^ 

Let  it  also  be  kept  in  mind  from  the  outset  that  this 
d.t.nct,o„  of  Three,-Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,! 

.alv!fi'T  r  ''""■'"'  of  Scripture,  and  espec- 
ally  of  the  New  Testament,  as  only  from  the  interpret- 
ng  light  of  the  later  books  are  we  able  to  see  any 

traces  of  it  under  the  older  covenant.      We  make  no 


I 


I 


0 


198 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED.      [Lect.  X. 


argument  in  favor  of  it  from  reason  or  the  light  of 
nature  ;  what  some  students,  more  enthusiastic  than 
wise,  liave  thought  to  be  corroborations  of  it  in  the 
trinities  of  Platonism  and  eastern  mythologies,  though 
starflliig  at  first  sight,  we  are  comi)elled  to  reject  as 
unworthy  of  parallelism  with  this  article  of  our  Chris- 
tiflii  faith.  If  we  cannot  find  it  in  Scripture  it  is  to  be 
found  nowhere.  It  is  above  the  discovery  of  reason, 
though  not  contrary  to  reason  when  discovered,  and 
could  have  been  taught  only  by  God  himself,  even  by 
the  Spirit  which  searcheth  the  deep  things  of  God. 
He,  therefore,  who  rejects  the  Scriptures  as  the  only 
infallible  rule  of  faith,  need  go  no  farther  with  us,  as 
we  shall  not  leave  their  sacred  platform  to  contend  on 
meaner  jrround. 

Nor  will  it  do  for  any  to  object  in  adi^ance,  that  God 
would  reveal  nothing  which  is  beyond  the  comprehen- 
sion of  human  reason,  and,  therefore,  that  anything 
in  the  Scriptures  which  seems  to  teach  this  doctrine 
should  be  either  torn  out  of  the  Book  as  spurious,  or 
m  interpreted  as  to  be  deprived  of  such  meaning. 
That  Avouldbe  to  make  finite  man  the  judge  of  divine 
truth  ;  a  monstrous  assumption  which  limits  the  wis- 
dom of  the  infinite  God  by  our  little  capacity.  Yet 
we  freely  admit  that  God  would  reveal  nothing  contra- 
dictory to  human  reason,  for  then  he  would  be  so  incon- 
sistc^nt  with  himself  as  to  demand  from  us  a  faith  he 
had  unfitted  us  to  exercise  ;  but  at  the  same  time  we 
liiow  tlmi  luiman  reason  is  finite,  cannot  go  beyond  its 
sphere,  and  is  very  weak  even  within  its  proper  limits ; 
an  tbfil  it  is  one  thing  for  a  doctrine  to  be  above  our 
comprehension,  and  another  to  be  contrary  to  our  un- 
derstanding.     A  doctrine   contrary  to  our  reason   is 


111 


Lect.  X.]        DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED. 


199 


false ;  as  that  a  thing  may  be  and  not  be  at  the  same 
moment ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  a  doctrine  above 
our  reason  is  false,  as  any  mystery  of  the  divine  nature. 
As  well  might  I  deny  that  nothing  exists  beyond  what 
I  can  hold  in  the  hollow  of  my  hand,  as  that  nothintr 
IS  true  beyond  what  I  am  able  to  comprehend  by  my 
mind  ;  else  ignorance  would  be  the  annihilation  of 
truth,  and  the  stupidity  of  the  dunce  who  cannot  un- 
derstand the  Frincipia  of  Newton  would  put  aside  the 
planetary  system.  There  are  many  scientific  truths 
certainly  demonstrated  that  are  utterly  beyond  the  per- 
ception of  uneducated  men,  nay,  which  seem  to  what 
they  call  common  sense  necessarily  absurd  ;  yet  are 
they  not  the  less  true  or  the  less  conformable  to  right 
reason  ;  and  if  this  be  the  difference  between  the  phi- 
losopher and  a  savage  with  regard  to  material  things, 
what  must  be  the  difference  between  the  best  cultivated 
human  mind  and  the  mind  of  God  respecting  the  mode 
of  his  infinite  adorable  existence  ?  If  he  condescend 
to  give  us  the  highest  proof  of  a  doctrine,  which  is  his 
own  direct  testimony,  it  is,  then,  the  part  of  reason  to 
receive  it  implicitly,  however  mj^sterious  it  may  be. 

Besides ;  it  is  one  thing  to  know  a  fact,  and  another 
to  know  the  mode  of  a  fact.  We  know  the  fact  of  the 
needle's  tendency  to  the  pole ;  but  who,  as  yet,  has 
fully  explained  the  reason  of  that  phenomenon  ?  There 
is  no  fact  of  which  all  men  are  more  fully  convinced 
than  that  we  can  control  our  muscles  by  a  mere  effort 
of  will ;  yet  what  physiologist  can  explain  how  this 
control  IS  put  within  the  power  of  our  will  ?  A  man 
who  should  deny  either  fact  is  a  fool,  and  not  a  philos- 
opher ;  but  what  is  he  who  denies  a  fact  in  the  divine 
nature,  because  he  cannot  measure  God  by  his  foot- 


i 


4 


i  ! 


I 

\  in 


260 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY   STATED.      [Lect.  X 


role  ?  If  reason  is  at  fault  in  its  searches  of  our  own 
mode  of  being,  how  may  it  judge  absolutely  of  the 
divine  ?  Let  those  follow  the  dim  lamp  of  reason 
which  they  have  lighted  from  the  sun,  —  we  will  pursue 
no  much  dim  glimmer ;  it  goes  out  amidst  the  damps 
of  death  ;  it  has  never  shone  a  foot  beyond  the  grave  ; 
be  it  ours,  my  brethren,  to  uplift  our  souls  to  the  Sun 
of  Righteousness  whose  universal  splendor  so  illustrates 
heaven  and  earth,  that  the  believer,  from  the  promises 
of  time,  gazes  with  realizing  sense  on  the  certain  glories 
of  his  immortality. 

Let  us,  then,  who  are  convinced  that  the  Scriptures 
are  the  testimony  of  God,  study  the  doctrine  of  God 
by  them  revealed ;  and  receive  it  as  true  because  God 
teaches  iU  Jm  other  discussions  we  have  premises  from 
which  to  argue,  and  analogies  with  which  to  compare  ; 
but  in  this  we  have  neither,  for  God  is  himself  first  of 
all,  and  infinitely  above  all  parallel.  The  doctrine  be- 
fore us  is  one  purely  of  faith  in  the  testimony  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures. 

After  this  preface,  we  go  on  to  state  in  as  precise 
language  as  we  can  the  belief  of  the  Reformed  Churches 
respecting  the  subsistence  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  in  one  God ;  termed  by  Theologians  the  doc- 
trine of  tho  Trinity  in  Unity,  —  Latin  terms  signifying 
Threeness  in  Oneness  ;  or,  more  shortly,  since  all  are 
agreed  as  to  the  unity  of  God,  the  Trinity,  —  by  which 
is  meant  the  coexistence  of  Three  distinct  Persons  in 
one  God. 

The  term  Trinity  is  not  found  in  the  Scriptures,  yet 
should  not  on  that  account  be  objected  to,  as  it  is  used 
not  to  convey  any  new  or  extra-scriptural  doctrine, 
but  only  to  express  in  one  word  what  would  otherwise 


Lect.  X.]        DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED. 


201 


require  many.     The  advocates  of  the  doctrine  have 
been  compelled  to  adopt  this  and  some  other  terms  by 
the  subtle  cavils  and  mischievous  sophistries  of  its  op- 
ponents ;  as  Dr.  Waterland  says :  "  The  early  Chris- 
tians easily  believed  that  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  in  whose  name  they  were  baptized,  and 
whom  they  worshipped,  were  equally  divine,  without 
troubling  themselves  about  the   manner  of  it,  or  of 
reconciling  it  with  their  belief  in  one  God  ;   as  men 
generally  believe  that  God  foreknows  everything,  and 
that  man,  notwithstanding,  is  a  free  agent,  scarcely  one, 
perhaps,  in   a   thousand,  concerning   himself  how  to 
reconcile  these  two  positions,  or  being  at  all  apprehen- 
sive of  any  difficulty ;  so,  probably,  these  plain  honest 
Christians  believed  each  of  the  Three  to  be  God,  and 
yet  but  one  God,  and  troubled  not  their  heads  with  any 
nice  speculation  about  the  mode  of  it.     This  seems  to 
have  been  the  artless  simplicity  of  the  primitive  Chris- 
tians till  prying  and  pretending  men  came  to  start  diffi- 
culties and  to  raise  scruples  and  to  make  disturbances, 
and  then  it  was  necessary  to  guard  the  faith  of  the 
Church  against  such  cavils  and  impertinences  as  began 
to  threaten  it.    Philosophy  and  metaphysics  were  called 
in  to  its  assistance,  but  not  till  heretics  had  shown  the 
way,  and  made  it,  in  a  manner,  necessary  for  the  Cath- 
olics   (orthodox)  to  encounter  them  with  their  own 
weapons.     Some  new  terms  and  particular  applications 
came  in  by  this  means,  that  such  as  had  a  mind  to  cor- 
rupt or  destroy  the  faith  might  be  defeated  in  their 
purposes."     For  the  same  reason,  the  language  of  some 
early  writers  who  were  firm  believers  in  the  true  doc- 
trine, differs  from,  and  at  first  sight  seems  to  contradict 
that  of  the  later  Church,  but  the  discrepancy  lies  in  the 


1  • 


202 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED.      [Lkct.  X 


Lkct.  X.]     DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED. 


203 


meaning  attached  to  these  added  terms  in  subsequent 
centuries. 

1.  We  do  not  differ  except  from  those  who  deny 
that  God  is  one,  or  that  tlie  Father  is  God,  that  the 
Sdii  is  God,  or  tliat  the  Holy  Ghost  is  God  ;  and  if 
we  are  not  able  to  prove  each  of  these  propositions 
from  Scripture  we  yield  the  controversy. 

2.  When  we  say  that  there  is  tliis  distinction  of 
Three  in  the  Godhead,  we  mean  that  this  distinction  is 
real  and  not  merely  nominal ;  tliat  is,  these  names  are 
not  several  names  of  the  Godhead,  as  Caius  Julius 
Ca?sar,  are  names  of  one  man  ;  nor  are  they  used  sep- 
arately of  the  Godhead  in  reference  to  the  several 
operations  of  the  Divine  will,  as  that  God  is  called  the 
Father,  in  reference  to  the  Creation  ;  the  Son,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  Redemption  ;  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  reference 
to  the  Sanctification  of  man  ;  but  that,  as  the  Scriptures 
teach,  these  three  are  so  distinct  from  each  other  as  to 
have  relations  to  each  other.  It  is  absurd  to  speak  of 
a  being  having  relations  to  himself,  because  relativeness 
implies  distinctiveness  between  those  spoken  of  as  re- 
lated. Thus  God  cannot  be  said  to  send  himself,  or  to 
be  sent  by  himself,  or  to  go  forth  from  himself;  yet  the 
Father,  in  Scripture,  is  declared  to  send  the  Son,  the 
Son  to  be  sent  of  the  Father,  and  the  Holv  Ghost  to  be 
sent  from  both.  The  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  are  said 
hy  the  Scriptures  to  have  coexisted  with  the  Father  at 
the  time  of  the  creation  ;  for  if  it  be  said  that  the  Father 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  it  is  also  said  that 
he  created  the  world  by  his  Son,  and  that  the  Spirit  of 
God  moved  on  the  face  of  the  waters ;  whence  also 
God  speaks  as  if  there  were  more  than  one  in  council, 
wlien  he  said :    "  Let  us  make  man  ; "  i,  e.,  Let  us, 


Father  and  Son  and  Spirit,  unite  in  making  man.  Us 
is  plural  though  God  is  one ;  yet  God  said  :  "  Let  us," 
wliich  indicates  more  than  the  Father.  Hence  it  can- 
not be  that  Father  means  only  God  as  Creator,  since 
the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit  were  also  engaged  in  the 
work  of  creation.  So  also  the  Father  is  said  to  have 
coexisted  and  cooperated  with  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  work  of  Redemption :  "  God  so  loved  the 
world  as  to  send  his  only  begotten  Son  ; "  the  Son  him- 
self took  part  of  flesh  and  blood  ;  the  Holy  Ghost  over- 
shadowed the  Virgin  Mary,  and  she  conceived  that  holy 
Thing  which  she  brought  forth  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Here  are  three  separate  acts  imputed  to  three  separate 
agents.  Hence  it  cannot  be  that  Son  only  means  God 
as  Saviour,  since  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost  were 
also  engaged  in  the  work  of  salvation.  So  also  the 
Father  and  the  Son  are  said  to  coexist  and  cooperate 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  work  of  Sanctification : 
"  When  the  Comforter  (whom  he  declares  in  another 
place  to  be  the  Holy  Ghost)  is  come,"  saith  our 
Lord,  "  whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father, 
even  the  Spirit  of  truth  which  proceedeth  from  the 
Father,  he  shall  testify  of  me."  The  Apostle  Jude 
speaks  of  those  that  are  sanctified  of  God  the  Father ; 
the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  attributes  sanctification  to 
the  Son,  when  he  says :  "  Both  he  that  sanctificth  and 
they  who  are  sanctified  are  all  of  one ;  for  which  cause 
he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren ; "  the  Apostle 
Paul  declares  the  converted  Gentiles  to  be  "  sanctified 
by  the  Holy  Ghost."  Here  are  then  several  agents  in 
the  one  work ;  and  in  the  first-cited  text  three  separate 
acts  in  this  one  work ;  the  Son  praying  the  Father  to 
send  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Father  sending  the  Holy 


I 


204 


DOCTKINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED.     [Lect.  X. 


)|  ' 


ill 


1i 


Spirit,  the  Holy  Spirit  proceeding  from  the  Father  and 
testifying  of  the  Son.     Hence  it  cannot  be  that  Holy 
Ghost  is  only  the  title  of  God  as  Sanctifier,  since  the 
Father  and  tlie  Son  are  also  engaged  in  the  work  of 
sanctification.    The  same  council  of  Three  which  said : 
"Let  us  make  man,"  said  also,  "  Let  us  redeem  man," 
and,  "  Let  us  sanctify  him."     To  mark  the  error  we 
are  contending  against,  let  us  put  the  simple  name  of 
God  in  the  place  of  the  three  personal  names  which  it 
is  asserted  mean  only  God  acting  in  each  of  his  three 
great  works,  and  it  will  strike  you  at  once  as  absurd : 
God  prays  to  God  that  he  would  send  forth  God ;  or 
again  :  God  sanctifies  through  God  by  God  ;  or  again : 
through  God  we  have  access  by  one  God  to  God.  "fiut 
how  clear,  and  in  accordance  with  Scripture,  it  is  when 
we  say:    God  the  Father  sanctifies  through  God  the 
Son,  by  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 

3.  When  we  assert  that  the  Father  then  is  God,  the 
Son  is  God,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  God,  we  do  not  mean 
that  there  are  three  Gods,  but  that  each  is  divine.    For 
when  we  speak  of  one  God,  we  mean  by  God  one 
divine  Being ;  but  when  we  speak  of  each  of  the  three 
as  God,  we  do  not  mean  the  divine  substance,  but  that 
each  is  divine  or  subsisting  in,  or  partaking  of,  this 
divme  Being  or  Essence,  which  is  but  the  Latin  syn- 
onym for  Being.     Thus  the  syllogism  by  which  the 
Unitarian  would  drive  us  to  absurdity,  fails :  "  There 
is  one  God ;   but  the  Father  and  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  are  each  God  ;  therefore  there  are  three  Gods ; " 
for  God  in  the  minor  is  not  of  the  same  sense  as  God 
in   the  major.      The  true  form  of  the  syllogism  is : 
There  is  one  divine  essence  ;   but  there  are  three  that 
are  divine  ;  therefore  there  are  Three  in  the  one  divine 


later.  X.j     DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED.  206 

essence ;  or,  as  the  Catechism  states  it,  "  Ther^  are  three 
distinct  Persons  in  the  one  only  true  and  eternal  God  ■ " 
by  winch  is  meant  that  each  Person  is  divine,  —  God 
but  not  the  Godhead, -and  that  the  Godhead  is  one 
but  three  Persons.     Do  any  start  from  this  as  though  it 
were  impossible  that  three  should  be  as  one,  and  one 
as   hree ;   we  bid  them  remember  that  God  is  infinite, 
and,  therefore,  as  we  cannot  comprehend  infinite,  we 
cannot  coinprehend  the  mode  in  which  the  infinite  God 
exists.     Each  man  has  in  him  a  trinity  :    his  body,  his 
sou  ,  and  his  animal  life  ;  yet  is  he  one  person.     Even 
material  substances  may  be  composed  of  two,  three,  or 
many  constituent  elements,  yet  each  substance  so  com- 
posed ,s,  as  respects  its  aggregation,  one  thing.     Shall 
we  then  dare  to  deny  that  there  may  be  three  in  the 
divine  being  of  one  substance  ? 

of  L  io"r "  *-ru""'^^"*'"'''  ^^'  ■■*'  ^''>-  '^^  truth 

of  the  doctrine  will  be  yet  more  apparent. 

Ihe  term  person  is  employed  somewhat  in  an  arbi- 

2  ?'!'  "'  "  '■'  ""'  P°^«'"''«  ft'r  the  human  mind  to 
unde  stand,  or  for  any  language  to  declare  the  distin- 
gushing  properties  of  the  Three  in  the  adorable  God- 
head.    It  assists,  however,  better  than  any  other. 

nnlrtl  r'""'  T  T"  ""'  ^'^''^  °f  «  distinct 
u  derstanding  and  wil .      Thus  the  Scriptures  distin- 

t1  a  of  I'T  "  r''«-t-'^i"i  of  the  Father,  and 
hat  of  the  Son,  and  that  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  "  No 
man  knoweth  the  Son,"  saith  our  Lord,  "but  the  Father, 
nei  her  knoweth  any  man  the  Father  save  the  Son,  and 
he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will  reveal  him."  Again: 
He  that  searcheth  the  hearts  knoweth  what  is  the  mind 
ot  the  Spmt ;     again :  "  God  hath  revealed  them  (the 


"^•i, 


206 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY   STATEIX       p-Ecr.  X. 


H 


f  i 


1!^    I 


things  of  the  Gospel)  unto  us  by  his  Spirit ;  for  the 
Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God." 
Again,  the  Saviour  saith :  "  He  (the  Holy  Ghost)  shall 
glorify  me  ;  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine  and  shall  show 
it  unto  you.  All  things  that  the  Father  hath  are  mine, 
therefore  said  I,  he  shall  take  of  mine  and  shall  show 
it  unto  you."  It  is  clear  that  in  these  texts,  not  one 
but  three  are  spoken  of  So,  also,  is  the  will  of  the 
Father  distinguished  from  the  will  of  the  Son,  and  that 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  from  either.  "  I  came  down  from 
heaven,"  saith  the  Saviour,  "  not  to  do  mine  own  will, 
but  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me."  Again  :  "  Father, 
not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt ; "  and  in  some  afore- 
cited text,  we  read  of  God  "  knowing  the  will  of  the 
Spirit,"  and  of  the  Spirit  acting  from  his  own  will  sep- 
arately from  the  Father  and  from  the  Son.  The  will 
of  each  is  ever  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  the  other 
two,  so  that  the  will  of  God  is  one  ;  but  as  they  each 
exercise  will,  they  are  distinct  Pereons. 

b.  We  use  person,  to  signify  relative  distinction. 
Hence  we  call  I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they,  personal  pro- 
nouns. Such  personal  relations  the  Scriptures  declare 
exist  in  the  Godhead.  Thus,  the  Saviour  saith  ;  "  I 
will  pray  the  Father  and  he  will  send  you  another 
Comforter."  Here  the  Son  speaks,  the  Father  is  spoken 
to,  and  the  Spirit  is  spoken  of.  We  need  not  multiply 
passages  though  we  might. 

e.  So,  also,  we  use  the  word  person,  because  we  find 
distinct  personal  acts  and  offices  attributed  to  each  of 
the  adorable  Three.  Thus  the  Father  accepts,  the  Son 
redeems,  the  Spirit  quickens. 

d.  But  let  it  be  carefully  remembered  that  when  we 
speak  of  Three  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  we  do  not 


Lect.  X.]      DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED.  207 

mean  that  they  are  separate  as  three  human  or  created 
persons  are  separate.     This  we  deny ;  for  they  are  of 
one  essence  or  nature,  not  of  the  same  common  nature 
as  three  men  are  of  a  common  humanity,  but  actually 
of  one  being,  not  three  beings.     Such  a  distinction  is, 
we  admit,  incompatible  with  oneness  in  any  finite  being ; 
but  it  is  not  incompatible  with  the  Oneness  of  the  infi- 
nite, because  finiteness  has  parts,  infinity  must  be  ever 
one.     We  are  not  ashamed  to  confess  that  we  cannot 
explain,  for  we  do  not  know  how  these  three  Persons 
coexist  as  one  Being,  but  we  believe  that  they  do,  be- 
cause  the  Scripture  says  that  they  do.     If  God  could 
be  understood   by  us,  he  would  cease  to  be  God  •  as 
an  eminent  thinker  (Daniel  Webster)  is  reported  to 
have  said  :  "  The  arithmetic  of  infinity  is  not  for  us  to 
cipher. 

Nor  shall  we  attempt  as  some  have  done  to  illustrate 
these  truths  by  other  examples,  because  there  can  be 
no  analogy ;  yet  we  might  show  the  inconsistency  of 
men  who  consider  the  Trinity  of  the  Godhead  contrary 
to  reason,  yet  believe  greater  difficulties  every  day  of 
their  lives.     Thus  :  A,  B,  and  C,  may  be  distinct  from 
each  other  in  a  property,  D,  yet  be  one  in  a  relation 
to  K     The  three  sides  of  a  triangle  are  distinct  from 
each  other  and  may  be  equal,  yet  they  constitute  one 
triangle.      We   do   not  contend  that  these  cases  are 
analogous  to  the  Divine  Trinity,  yet,  if  there  may  be 
tri-unity  m  an  algebraic  formula,  or  a  mathematical 
hgure,  who  dare  deny  that  it  may  in  the  Godhead  ? 
Again :    The  sovereign   authority  of  an   Italian  city 
was  once  vested  in  a  council,  known  by  one  name ; 
that  council  was  composed  of  three  equal  members ;  as 
respects  the  action  ad  extra  (externally)  of  the  council, 


208 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED.       [Lect.  X. 


Lect.  X.]       DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED. 


209 


It  was  one ;  as  respects  the  action  of  the  three  ad  infra 
(or  in  their  relation  to  each  other)  they  were  distinct. 
The  illustration,  we  admit,  is  not  complete,  because  the 
Supreme  God  is  infinitely  above  any  human  authority ; 
but  does  it  not  fullj  mf et  the  objection  that  a  tri-unity 
is  impossible  ? 

5.  The  Three  Persons  in  the  Godhead  are  equal 
each  to  each.  On  this  we  need  not  enlarge,  for  if  our 
previous  reasoning  be  received,  the  co-equality  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  must 
follow, 

mm  If  each  of  the  Three  Persons  be  divine,  each 
must  be  possessed  of  divine  attributes  ;  but  the  divine 
attributes  are  infinite,  and  infinity  is  not  separable  into 
parts;  therefore  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  must  be  equal,  else  one  infinity  would  be  greater 
than  another  infinity,  which  is  impossible. 

hm  Divine  worship  is  homage  to  the  Supreme  author- 
ity ;  and  such  worship  is  demanded  for  each  of  the 
Three  divine  Persons  ;  therefore  they  must  be  equal, 
else  they  could  not  receive  each  the  homage  due  to  the 
Supreme. 

&  If  it  be  objected  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  New 
Testament  often  represent  the  Father  as  superior  to  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  subordinate  to  both  ;  we 
answer  that  all  such  passages  will  be,  on  examination, 
found  to  refer  to  the  working  out  of  the  redemption, 
and  describe  not  the  oriorinal  or  natural  relations  of  the 
Three  to  each  other,  but  the  official  distinctions  they 
have  voluntarily  assumed  to  each  other  in  the  remedial 
scheme  :  The  Father,  as  the  Representative  of  the 
Godhead  ;  The  Son,  as  the  incarnate  representation  of 
man  ;  and,  therefore,  in  the  form   of  servant  to  the 


Father;  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  efficient  agent  of 
both.  In  the  essential  constitution  of  the  Godhead, 
they  are,  and  have  been  from  all  eternity,  and  will 
be  to  all  eternity,  equal.  Is  it  rejoined  that  the 
relation  of  a  son  to  a  father  necessarily  implies 
inferiority  ?  We  answer :  Those  names  cannot  be 
applied  to  the  first  two  persons  of  the  Godhead  in  the 
same  sense  as  in  the  human  relation,  since  the  Son 
is  eternally  existent  with  the  Father ;  but  are  used  to 
indicate  that  the  Son  is  of  the  same  nature  with  the 
Father,  as  the  begotten  is  of  the  same  nature  with  the 
begetter.  Neither  is  it  true,  that  a  son  is  necessarily 
inferior  to  the  father,  but  only  while  under  age ;  in 
adult  years,  a  son  takes  his  place  by  the  side  of  his 
father,  nay,  comes  to  be,  from  the  decrepitude  of  the 
aged  parent,  in  every  way  besides  that  of  affectionate 
reverence,  superior  to  his  father.  The  divine  Father 
and  the  divine  Son  have  no  such  changes,  and  there- 
fore there  is  nothing  in  the  terms  Father  and  Son 
which  supposes  the  one  to  be  greater  in  authority  than 
the  other. 

Here,  for  the  present,  we  rest  our  exposition,  the 
nice  technicalities  of  which  have  been  required  to 
guard  our  faith  from  the  uncandid  attacks  of  its  oppo- 
nents. 

PRACTICAL    INFERENCES. 

Fir%t :  In  all  our  studies  of  God,  we  should  humble 
our  reason  at  the  feet  of  Divine  Wisdom.  What 
know  we  of  God  beyond  what  he  has  revealed  of 
himself? 

Secondly:    We   should  confidently  trust   the  great 

Three  in  One  for  our  whole  salvation  ;  the  Spirit  for 

,  his  sanctifying  grace  ;  the  Son  for  his  prevalent  media- 

VOL.   I.  14 


' 


I 


210 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED.      [Lect.  X. 


tion  ;  the  Father  for  his  adopting  love  ;  God  the  Spirit 
within  us  ;  God  the  Father  above  us ;  God  the  Son 
between  us  and  God  the  Father. 

Thirdly:  We  should  ever  thankfully  adore  with 
equal  praises,  The  Father,  The  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  —  the  One  God,  the  God  of  our  salvation. 


LECTURE  XI. 


EAITH   IN   GOD   THE   FATHER. 


I 


II  ■     ' 


1 1 

•  t 
'  l>|    1 


I' 


IV' 


I 


I 


NINTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

FAITH  IN  GOD   THE  FATHER. 


(iUKST.  XXVI.  What  believest  thou,  when  thou  sayest:  "  /  believe  in  God, 
the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth^'  ? 

Ans.  That  the  eternal  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  (who  of  nothing 
made  heaven  and  earth  and  all  that  is  in  them;  who  likewise  upholds 
and  governs  the  same  by  his  eternal  counsel  and  providence)  is  for  the 
8ake  of  Christ  his  Son,  my  God  and  Father,  on  whom  I  rely  so  entirely 
that  I  have  no  doubt  but  he  will  provide  me  with  all  things  neces- 
sary for  soul  and  bod}' ;  and  that  he  will  make  whatever  evils  he 
sends  upon  me  in  this  valley  of  tears  turn  out  for  my  advantage;  for  he 
is  able  to  do  it,  being  Almighty  God,  and  willing,  being  a  faithful  Father. 

TT  is  necessary  here,  and,  indeed,  throughout  our 
-■-  study  of  the  Catechism,  to  be  mindful  of  what  was 
stated  at  the  beginning  of  our  exposition,  that  the 
answers  given  are  supposed  to  come  from  the  mouth  of 
a  true  Christian ;  and,  therefore,  not  only  is  very 
strong  language  used,  but,  also,  the  order  is  rather  that 
of  Christian  experience  than  of  systematic  theology. 
We  shall  not,  however,  err,  if,  in  opening  the  truths 
taught  by  the  section  for  this  (Ninth)  Lord's  Day,  and 
the  one  following,  we  do  not  confine  ourselves  to  the 
course  suggested  by  the  words  ;  but  unite,  as  far  as  we 
can,  the  theoretical  with  the  experimental,  the  doctrinal 
with  the  practical.  You  will  also  please  to  note,  that 
the  lesson  for  the  Tenth  Lord's  Day  is  an  expansion  of 
this  for  the  Ninth,  and  that  the  edifying  inferences  are 
from  the  whole,  allowing  us  to  reserve  until  our  next 
Lecture  several  important  things,  which  ought,  other- 
wise, to  be  treated  of  to-day. 

We   are   now  to  inquire  (Quest,  and  Ans.  26th)  : 


f  i|: 


214 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XI. 


Lbct.  XI.| 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


215 


ill 


What  a  Christian  professes  when  he  says  :  ''I believe  in 
God,  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth  "  f 
M  we  ascertain, 

First  :  What  is  to  he  understood  hy  the  divine  title : 
God,  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,'' 
we  shall  know. 

Secondly  :  What  is  the  doctrine  held  hy  us  when  we 
assert  this  first  article  of  the  Creed. 

First  :    What  is  to  he  understood  hy  the  divine  title  : 
God,  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth? 
In  our  last  Lecture  we  took  pains  to  show  from  the 
Scriptures,  that  there  is  One  Divine  Essence,  and  in  the 
One  Divine  Essence  three  distinct  Persons,  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost.     Upon  this  distinction  and  order  of 
Three  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  as  set  forth  in  the  for- 
mula for   Christian   baptism,  our  Christian    Creed   is 
foBUdii,     Hence  the  holy  and  reverend  name  of  God 
is  used  to  sft^nifv  the  one  divme  Being  in  Three  Persons, 
and  also  each  of  the  Three  Persons  as  divine.     There- 
fore, this  first  article  of  the  Creed  relates  to  God  the 
Father,  the  First  Person  in  the  ever-adorable  Godhead. 
It  was   also   shown   that,    while    the  distinction   of 
Three  in  the  one  God  is  eternal,  the  mode  of  their  co- 
existence is  utterly  beyond   our  comprehension  ;    but 
when  the  names.  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  are 
uscfl   with  reference  to  the  plan  of  redemption,  they 
have  a  siornificance  which  we  can  better  understand  ; 
and,  as  the  Christian  Creed  is  meant  to  set  forth  spe- 
cially God  in  our  redemption,  it  is  of  the  First  Person 
that  we  here  speak  of  as  God,  the  Father,  and  of  him 
as  engaged  with  God  the  Son  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost 
III  the  economy  of  saving  grace.     In  that  economy,  ac- 
cordins  to  the  eternal  counsel  and  covenant  of  the  Three 


Divine  Persons,  each  assumes  his  peculiar  office ;  and 
while  the  Son  executes  the  work  necessary  for  our 
redemption,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  applies  the  benefits  of 
that  work  to  the  believer,  the  Father  is  constituted  the 
representative  of  the  Godhead  and  vindicator  of  its 
honors ;  and,  therefore,  offieially  the  source  and  end  of 
the  scheme,  to  whom  we  must  go  for  acceptance  through 
the  Son  by  the  Holy  Ghost;  as  the  Apostle  says: 
*'  Through  him  (i  e,  Christ)  we  have  access  by  one 
Spirit  to  the  Father." 

You  will  observe,  however,  that,  by  a  difference  in 
punctuation,  this  article  may  read :  I  believe  in  God ; 
th«  Father  Almighty,  etc.,  i.  e,  I  believe  in  God,  viz : 
ia  "  the  Father,  ....  and  in  .  .  his  only  begotten 
Son,  .  .  .  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  According  to  this 
reading,  the  Creed  asserts  first  the  unity  of  God,  in  op- 
])osition  to  those  heretics  who  contended  for  more  gods 
than  one,  and  in  refutation  of  those  who  reproach 
believers  in  the  Trinity  with  believing  in  three  Gods. 
There  is  in  the  history  and  comparison  of  the  Creed,  as 
adopted  by  different  portions  of  the  earlier  church,* 
some  little  ground  for  this  view ;  but  as  the  difference 
is  not  essential,  and  as  we  have  already  proved  the 
unity  of  the  true  God,  we  shall  adopt  the  ordinary 
acceptation. 

With  this  preface  we  proceed.  God,  the  Father  Al- 
mighty, Maker  of  heaven  and  earth. 

Here  are  several  titles  of  the  First  Person  in  the 
Godhead  combined  :  The  I.  absolute,  God ;  the  11. 
relative,  The  Father  ;  the  III.  characteristic,  Al- 
™ig^ty ;  the  IV.  executive.  Maker  of  heaven  and 
earth. 

*  See  King  and  others  on  The  Creed. 


m 


216 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


[Lect.  XI. 


Lect.  XI.] 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


217 


11'^ 


I.   g-od.  —  This  is  an  absolute  term  for  that  ineffable 
mode  of  being  in  which  God  exists  alone,  independently 
llf  all  his  creatures,  offices,  and  acts.      For  although, 
because  of  his  authority  over  us,  and  of  our  derivation 
of  all  we  are  and  have  from  him,  we  are  accustomed 
to  consider  God  in  connection  with  his  infinite  sover- 
eignty, and  the  effects  of  his  will ;  he  would  be  not 
the  less  God  if  there  were  no  being  animate  or  inanimate 
im  the  universe  but  he.     We  can,  therefore,  attempt 
no  definition   of  the  word  God,  used  thus  absolutely. 
He  himself  has  given  us  none.    "  I  am  that  I  am,"  said 
he  to  Moses;  and  again  by  the  prophet:  "I  am  Je- 
hovah (the  Lord),  and  besides  me  there  is  none  else." 
The  composition  of  the  name  Jehovah  has  the  same 
meaning,  —  being  of  two  words  signifying  existence,  — 
existing  ;    which  ought  not  to  be  considered  as  imply- 
ing  his  eternity,  but  the  mode  of  being  in  which  he  is 
eternal.     Josephus  calls  Jehovah  "  the  shudder-causing 
name  of  God ; "  and  the  Jews  never  pronounced  it,  such 
was  their  awful  reverence  for  its  inscrutable  meaning. 

We  need  not  stay  to  prove  this  essential  Divinity  or 
Godship  of  the  Father,  seeing  that  it  is  disputed  by  none, 
—  Jew,  Mohammedan,  Arian,  Socinian,  or  Sabellian,  — 
wlio  contend  against  us  only  because  we  impute  per- 
sonal divinity  also  to  the  Son  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
but  all  are  united  with  us  in  calling  the  Father  God. 

II.  God,  the  Father,  —  Father  is  a  relative  term,  im- 
plying that  there  is  one  or  more  of  whom,  or  to  whom, 
a  father  is  father.  We  use  it  to  signify  the  author  of 
life  in  a  conscious  being,  as  a  man  is  of  the  child  he 
has  begotten,  or  the  Creator  of  men  and  angels.  This 
is  its  first  and  radical  sense. 

From  this  it  comes  to  signify  one  who  extends  over 


another  or  others  such  care  as  a  father  has  for  his  off- 
spring. So  Job  was  "  a  father  to  the  poor,"  because 
he  felt  for  their  wants  and  supplied  them.  Often  it 
implies  instruction,  as  followers  of  an  eminent  teacher 
(Socrates,  for  example)  address  him  as  their  father  J 
and  as  the  apostles  Paul  and  John  call  those  whom 
they  instruct  their  children.  It  also  may  include  gov- 
ernment and  protection,  as  kings  are  spoken  to  by  their 
subjects  by  the  name  of  Sire  ;  and  as  our  Indian  tribes 
call  our  President  their  Great  Father. 

It  may,  therefore,  designate  a  natural  relation,  an 
affectionate  relation,  or  an  authoritative  relation  ;  and 
these  three  senses  may  be  combined  by  the  word. 

When  we  speak  of  God  the  Father,  we  may  use  the 
phrase  with  one  of  two  references.  1.  We  may  speak 
of  the  First  Person  of  the  Trinity  in  his  relation  to  the 
other  two  Persons,  but  particularly  in  his  peculiar  re- 
lation to  the  Second  ;  as  when  it  is  said :  "  God  sent 
forth  his  Son ; "  and  Christ  says :  "  I  go  unto  my 
Father."  Or,  2.  We  may  speak  of  God  the  Father 
in  the  relation  which  he,  with  merciful  condescension, 
sustains  to  his  intelligent  creatures,  and  especially 
through  Christ  to  the  new  creatures  of  his  grace.  Thus 
the  Catechism  here :  "  I  believe  that  the  eternal  Father 

of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, is,  for  the  sake  of 

Christ  his  Son,  my  God  and  Father." 

1.  We  speak  of  the  First  Person  in  the  Trinity  in 
his  relation  to  the  other  two,  but  particularly  his  pecul- 
iar relation  to  the  Second,  who  is  called  the  Son. 

The  Three  Persons  in  the  Godhead  are,  as  we  took 
pains  in  a  former  discourse  to  show,  originally  and 
essentially  equal.  They  are  divine ;  and,  as  Deity  is 
essentially  supreme,  there  can  be  no  natural  superiority 


FAITH  WiGOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lkct.  XL 


I 

f 

f 

t 

I! 


|!> 


218 

af«»ie«»vw  another.  They  are  divine  ;  and,  as  Deity 
b  essentially  self-existent,  therefore  eternal,  no  one 
could  be  before  another ;  they  must  have  coexisted 
from  all  eternity.  As  the  Father  is  eternal,  so  is  the 
Son  eternal,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  eternal.  But  in  the 
Scriptures  the  First  Person  is  called  the  Father ;  the 
Second,  the  Son ;  the  Third,  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  spoken 

of  as  sent  from  both. 

Yet  as  we  have  seen,  these  relations  cannot,  trom 
the  es'sential  properties  of  the  Holy  and  Divine  Per- 
sons, imply  any  difference  in  rank  or  order  of  being. 
They  are  relations  we  cannot  understand,  the  mystery 
arising  from   the  incomprehensibility  of  God  by  our 
finite  minds.     The  terms  employed  by  theologians  as 
"  eternal  generation  "  and  "  procession,"  and  the  like, 
though  useful  as  technicalities  of  science,  really  throw  no 
light  on  the  subject ;  nor  can  they  themselves  be  farther 
.-xplained,  although  the  offices  which  the  several  Per- 
sons hold  in  the  redemption  are  cleariy  distinguishable. 
It  is  however,  to  the  Second  Person  that  the  First 
bears,  peculiariy,  the  relation  of  Father.     As  Jehovah 
said  unto  David,  the  royal  type  of  Christ,  and,  ther^ 
fore,  according  to  the  writer  of  the  Epistle   to  the 
Hebrews,  propheticaUy  of  Christ  himself:  » I  will  be 
his  Father,  and  he  shall  be  my  Son ; "  and  again  in  the 
Second  Psalm,  which  we  know  on  the  same  authority 
(and  from  the  strain  of  the  Psalm  itselO  refers  also  to 
Christ,  God  savs  by  solemn  decree:    "Thou  art  my 
Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee."     "  This  day    -- 
that  is  in  eternity ;- from  all  eternity  he  is  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God  the  Father. 

a.  He  is  his  Father,  because  of  that  ineffable  rela- 
tion subsisting  between  th»i»  Wl^  Godhead. 


htct.  XI.] 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


219 


b.  He  is  his  Father,  because  the  Begotten  is  of  the" 
same  nature  with  the  Begetter. 

c.  He  is  his  Father,  because  the  Son  is  appointed  to 
appear  acknowledged  as  the  representative  to  receive 
honor  in  his  Father's  name. 

d.  He  is  his  Father,  because,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  he 
bewat  his  human  nature  in  a  miraculous  manner. 

e.  He  is  his  Father,  because  he  raised  him  up  from 
the  dead,  so  giving  him  a  renewed  life. 

/.  He  is  his  Father,  because  he  constitutes  him  the 
head  of  that  spiritual  family  which  he  has  adopted  for 
the  sake  of  the  Son,  from  among  the  fallen  race  of  men. 

For  all  these  reasons,  the  Catechism  speaks  of  God 
the  Father  as  the  eternal  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  eternal,  because  himself  eternal ;  eternal,  be- 
cause from  all  eternity  the  Father  of  the  Second  Per- 
son, who,  at  the  fulness  of  time,  became  incarnate 
for  us. 

2.  In  using  the  title  God  the  Father,  we  may  speak 
of  the  First  Person  in  the  relation  he  sustains  to  his 
intelligent  creatures. 

a,  God  the  Father  is  our  Father,  because  he  is  the 
author  of  our  being.  He  created  us  as  he  created  all 
things.  We  came  into  existence  only  through  the 
efficient  fiat  of  his  will.  The  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
cooperated  with  him  in  the  divine  work ;  for  the  Son 
is  the  Eternal  Word  by  whom  the  worlds  were  made, 
and  "  without  whom  there  was  not  anything  made  that 
was  made ; "  and  the  Holy  Ghost  was  the  Spirit  that 
moved  on  the  face  of  the  chaotic  deep,  and  that  breathed 
into  man's  nostrils  the  breath  of  life  ;  yet,  as  we  are 
taught  to  recognize  in  the  First  Person  the  representa- 
tive of  the  combined  honors  of  the  Godhead,  we  ascribe 


220 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


[Lect.  XI. 


Lect.  XI.J 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


221 


to  him  the  official  work  of  creation  through  the  Word 
hj  the  Holy  Spirit. 

b.  He  is  our  Father,  because  he  is  our  Teacher, 
having  given  us  intelligent  souls,  and  instructing  us  by 
his  works,  his  Word,  and  his  Spirit. 

c.  He  is  our  Father,  because,  knowing  the  wants  of 
oar  nature,  physical  and  moral,  he  feels  for  us,  watches 
over  us,  and  supplies  us  with  that  which  we  need. 

d.  He  is  our  Father,  because  he  is,  in  the  same  man- 
ner, our  Protector,  so  that  nothing  can  affect  us  but  by 
his  order  or  permission ;  while,  as  our  Sovereign  Ruler, 
be  insists  upon  our  entire  obedience,  chastening  us  when 
we  stray,  and  punishing  us  if  we  be  obstinately  im- 
penitent. 

In  these  senses  God  is  a  Father  to  all  his  intelligent 
creatures,  though  his  chastening  of  those  who  err  be- 
longs more  properly  to  the  dispensation  of  grace. 

But,  as  the  First  Person  is  peculiarly  the  Father  of 
the  Second  Person,  who  became  incarnate  as  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  so  is  he  in  a  peculiar  manner  the  Father 
of  penitent  sinners  among  men,  who,  beheving  on  Christ, 
die  appointed  Saviour,  are  represented  by  Christ  the 
Son  of  God.  We  have  by  our  sins  forfeited  our  origi- 
nal right  and  natural  claim  to  our  Maker's  regard,  and, 
having  lost  the  image  of  God,  there  is  in  us  nothing 
Qprrespondent  to  the  divine  holiness.  Before  we  can 
be  restored  to  our  primeval  estate  of  favor,  our  sins 
must  be  expiated  ;  we  must  have  a  new  righteousness 
which  may  recommend  us  to  his  approval ;  we  must 
have  a  new  nature  in  which  we  can  hold  communion 
with  him.  That  expiation  he  has  provided  for  us  by 
the  death  of  Christ;  that  righteousness  has  been 
wrought  out  for  us  by  the  active  obedience  of  Christ ; 


that  new  nature  is  created  in  us  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
the  divine  image  being  renewed  in  our  souls.  These 
benefits  become  ours  the  moment  that  we  receive  them 
and  apply  them  to  ourselves  by  faith  in  Christ,  which 
is  an  acceptance  of  him  as  our  atoning  Mediator  with 
the  Father,  and  a  reliance  on  his  merits  alone  for  our 
justification  in  the  sight  of  God.  This  faith  unites  us 
to  Christ ;  he  becomes  our  Head,  we  become  members 
of  his  body.  We  are  then  found  in  him  ;  we  in  him 
look  to  God ;  God  looks  upon  us  in  him  ;  and,  as  Christ 
is  the  Son  of  God,  we  become  by  him  children  of  God. 

We  are  his  children,  because  we  are  begotten  again 
by  his  power;  because  we  have  the  right  (a  right 
through  grace,  but  still  a  right)  of  children  ;  and  be- 
cause God  formally,  absolutely  adopts  us  as  his  children, 
making  us  objects  of  his  affectionate  care,  instruction, 
and  discipline,  reflections  of  his  image,  and  heirs  of  his 
kingdom  above.  "  To  as  many  as  received  him  (i,  e. 
Christ),  to  them  gave  he  power  (prerogative)  to  become 
the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name." 

III.  God,  the  Father  Almighty,  —  This  title,  charac- 
teristic of  his  power,  is  in  some  versions  of  the  Creed 
joined  to  "  Father,"  in  others  to  "  Maker  of  heaven 
and  earth  ; "  but  the  difference  is  little  whether  we 
speak  of  God  as  the  Father  Almighty  or  as  the  Al- 
mighty Creator,  since  our  Father  and  the  Creator  are 
one  and  the  same,  —  our  gracious  and  faithful  Lord 
God.  He  could  not  be  the  Creator  were  he  not 
almighty;  nor  could  he  be  our  Father  were  he  not 
the  Creator.  It  is  his  boundless  power  which  warrants 
and  demands  our  sole  and  entire  trust  in  him,  accord- 
ing to  his  promises  of  merciful  love  through  Jesus 
Christ  his  Son  and  J^ord. 


J ?22 


JAffft.  1»  i^  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XI. 


LxcT.  XL] 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


223 


III  I 


When  we  say  that  He  is  almighty^  we  mean  that  he 
can  do  what  it  pleases  him  to  do,  and  prevent  what  it 
pleases  him  to  prevent,  and  overrule  what  any  of  his 
creatures  may  do  in  disregard  of  his  authority,  for  his 
own  ends  and  his  own  glory.    It  is  worse  than  idle  and 
impertinent  to  ask  if  God  can  do  anything  inconsistent 
with  his  hoHness,  or  anything  not  conformed  to  the 
nature  of  things  which  he  has  ordained.     It  pleases 
him  to  do  nothing  of  the  sort ;   it  is  morally  impossible 
that  anything  inconsistent  can  occur  in  his  acts ;   but 
his  power  is  limited  only  by  his  will.     How  great  Ms 
power  is  we  cannot  know,  for  it  is  infinitely  above  our 
thoughts ;   yet,  that  it  is  unbounded,  we  easily  discover 
.in  his  acts.     He  who  can  make  the  least  thing  out  of 
nothing,  must  be  able  to  make  what  he  pleases  out  of 
nothing;  and  he  who  has  thus  made  all  things  must 
be  able  to  control  all  things.     Think  what  power  there 
is  in  that  will  which  at  once  brought  all  things  into 
existence ;  which  since  maintains  them  in  existence,  and 
repeats  or  multiplies  many  of  them  by  such  nice,  grad- 
ual,  wonderfully  adapted  laws  and  instrumentalities. 
What  power  there  is  in  the  wind,  the  fluxes  of  the 
waters,  the  expansion  of  heat,  the  contraction  of  cold, 
the  electric  fire,  and  the  magnetic  attraction  !     What 
power  there  is  in  the  motion  of  all  the  radiant  worlds 
Aroughout  all  space,  and  their  restraint  to  their  har- 
monious orbits  by  the  centrifugal  and  centripetal  forces ! 
What  power  there  is  in  the  upheaving  from  the  soil  of 
the  vegetating  seeds  that  cover  the  earth  with  verdure, 
and  the  vital  sap  that  nourishes  and  perfects  plant  and 
shrub  and  vinaand  tree  1     What  power  there  is  in  the 
strength  put  forth  by  all  animated  beings!      Think, 
also,  that  this  power  is  irresistibly  exerted  and  felt  at 


once,  constantly,  everywhere  !  Yet  is  all  this  power 
his.  Nay,  these  are  parts  of  his  works ;  and  we  know 
but  a  small  portion  of  the  vast  effects  which  result  from 
his  will  ^  nor  can  we  deny  that  he  who  has  done,  or 
is  doing,  what  we  now  must  ascribe  to  God,  may,  if  it 
pleases  him,  accomplish  infinitely  more.  In  a  word, 
his  power  has  no  bounds  ;  he  is  almighty. 

IV.  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth.  —  This  we  have 
called  an  executive  title,  because  it  represents  God  the 
Father  not  merely  possessed  of  infinite  power,  but  as 
exerting  it  in  the  first  great  work  of  his  will,  which  is 
the  basis  or  beginning  of  all  his  system  of  operations, 
at  least  of  all  that  concern  our  race. 

The  making  of  heaven  and  earth  by  God  the  Father 
Almighty,  is  so  vast  a  subject  that  to  discuss  or  even 
speak  of  all  the  things  which  closely  relate  to  it,  would 
exliaust  the  longest  lifetime ;  and,  if  the  pen  were  em- 
ployed, "  I  suppose  that  even  the  world  itself  could  not 
contain  the  books  that  should  be  written."  We  must, 
therefore,  confine  ourselves  to  a  statement  of  a  few  gen- 
eral heads,  under  which  all  may  be  arranged,  with  such 
brief  comments  as  are  required  for  our  practical  use  of 
the  matter,  and  shall  treat  1st,  Of  the  making;  2d, 
Of  what  was  made  ;  3d,  Of  the  time  of  the  making. 

1st.  Of  the  making.  The  translators  of  the  Creed 
into  our  vernacular  have  evidently  endeavored  to  use, 
as  far  as  possible,  purely  English  words,  for  the  better 
understanding  of  the  common  people ;  and,  here,  have 
chosen  the  verb  to  make  as  the  only  Saxon  one  by 
which  the  idea  can  be  at  all  expressed.  Yet  making 
does  not  give  the  whole  sense  implied ;  for  a  man  may 
make  various  things  out  of  material  supplied  to  his 
hand,  while  here  is  intended  an  act  of  sovereign  om- 


^w% 


FAITH  m  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


[Lect.  XL 


Lbct.  XI.] 


FAITH  m  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


225 


I 


« 


ir 


nipotence.  Nor  is  it  true  that  either  the  Latin,  Greek, 
or  even  the  Hebrew  words  rendered  here  by  "  made," 
signify,  radically,  any  more.  Still,  our  word  "  create," 
formed  from  the  Latin,  is  universally  used  by  us,  espe- 
cially by  theologians,  to  convey  the  sense  of  entire 
origination,  or,  when  applied  to  the  great  fact  before 
us,  of  making  out  of  nothing  ;  and  so  we  shall  use  it. 
The  insufficiency  of  the  terms  of  the  other  languages 
should  not,  however,  prejudice  us  against  the  idea  of 
the  origination  by  God,  because  the  Romans  and 
Greeks,  being  heathen,  had  no  notion  of  what  we  mean 
by  creation,  and  thought  that  matter  was  eternal ; 
while  the  Hebrew  has  few  radicals,  and  Moses  took 
the  one  nearest  to  the  full  sense.  The  Jews,  however, 
universally  understood  the  making  to  be  out  of  nothing ; 
indeed,  such  belief  in  the  divine  origination  of  all  things, 
distinguishes  those  who  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a  written 
revelation  from  all  others.  The  writer  to  the  Hebrews 
puts  beyond  doubt  the  belief  of  both  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians on  the  subject,  when  he  says :  "  Through  faith 
(i.  e,  reliance  on  divine  testimony),  we  understand  that 
ihe  worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of  God,  (or  speech 
of  God,  prjfiari,  not  Xoyw,)  so  that  things  which  are  seen 
(visible)  were  not  made  of  things  which  do  appear 
(i,  6.  are  distinguishable)  ; "  meaning,  as  Chrysostom 
observes,  things  that  are  were  made  of  things  which 

are  not   (see  1    Cor.   i.    28  ;  ra  firj  orra  .  .  .  ra  ovra),  that 

is,  of  nothing.  Besides  the  notion  that  matter  itself  has 
mot  originated  from  God's  supreme  will,  would  impeach 
the  divine  almightiness,  since  that  which  had  existence 
without  his  will  must  continue  to  be,  in  some  degree, 
beyond  his  power.  When,  therefore,  we  read  that  "  in 
the  beginnincr  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth," 
we  understand  that  he  made  them  out  of  nothing. 


2d.  What  was  made.  The  veree  just  cited  tells  us, 
"  The  heaven  and  earth."  The  only  question  arising 
here  is  respecting  what  is  meant  by  "  heaven  ;"  *  whether 
it  signifies  the  heaven  of  the  divine  Presence,  with  the 

various  orders  of  angelic  spirits  whose  abode  is  there, 

or  wliat  we  call  heaven,  intending  the  sky  and  the 
starry  worlds  which  we  call  the  heavenly  bodies.     The 
Rabbinical  opinion  is  that  it  means  the  former,  and  this 
is  followed  by  most  divines  ;  but  the  latter  idea,  confin- 
ing it  to  the  visible  heaven,  has,  at  least,  a  strong  prob- 
ability for   several   reasons.      In    the  first   place,   the 
scriptural  history  throughout  relates  to  this  world,  or 
rather  to  the  Church  in  this  world ;  and  what  concerns 
other  worlds,  which  are  the  abodes  of  happy  or  lost 
spirits,  is  spoken  of  with  great  reserve,  and  only  when 
necessary  to  the  development  of  facts  bearing  on  the 
Church  and  the  future  state  of  men.     Then,  again,  tire 
account  is  everywhere  else  of  the  physical   creation, 
except  where  the  spiritual  nature  of  man  and  his  moral 
condition  (in  the  image  of  God)  are  stated.      So  the 
writer  to  the  Hebrews,  speaking  of  what  we  know  by 
faith  respecting  the  creation,  says :  "  the  things  that  are 
seen."     Besides  which,  the  Jews  (and  the  sacred  lan- 
guage is  conformable)  believed  that  there  were  three 
heavens :  the  earth's  atmosphere  (as  we  say  the  fowls 
of  heaven)  ;    the   supernal    atmosphere,  or  what   we 
should  call  the  space  beyond  ;  and  the  third  heavens, 
or  heaven  of  heavens,   which  last  is  rarely,  if  ever, 
without  some  distinguishing  epithet,  alluded  to  by  the 
sacred  writers.     Certainly,  this  view  of  the  subject  re- 
lieves us  from  many  embarrassments ;  as  we  believe 
firmly  that  all  creatures  in  heaven  as  well  as  on  earth. 


VOL.  I. 


*  Or  heavens;  tha  word  is  plural. 
15 


226         JAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.     [L-cx.  XI. 

came  forth  from  the  almighty  will ;  and  only  confine 
the  sense  of  the  word  heaven  or  heavens  m  the  text 

^td!  The  time  of  the  making.      The   present  the- 
ories «f  geologists  and  others  have  introduced  large 
discussion!    o„%his   point;    and    Chnsfan   mqmrers 
l,ave    sometimes    ventured    dangerously  far    through 
anxiety  to  reconcile  the  inspired  account  with  scien- 
triic  o,.inion.      There  can   be  no  doubt  that,  if  om: 
knowledge  of  facts  were  sufficient,  revelation  and  sci- 
ence would  be,  in  every  respect,  agreed ;  but  as  firm 
believers   in    the  Divine  testimony,  we  should   never 
consent  to  try  the  truth  of  Moses  by  the  deductions  of 
philosophers.      Science  is  progressive,  and,  therefore, 
Lperfirt,  and,  therefo.-e,  fallible     The  P-sent  hypoth- 
esifof  geologists  is  scarcely  half  a  century  old,  being 
based  on  facts  until  then  undiscovered ;  it  is  itself  con- 
tradictory to  the  hypothesis  of  the  same  science  in  the 
centurie^  before  ;  s^  that  they  who  insist  upon  modern 
viswB  would  themselves  laugh  at  us  were  we  to  attempt 
the  trial  of  the  sacred  story  by  what  was  o.ice  science, 
but  now  is  exploded.     Yet,  since  such  changes  have 
%em  made  in  science  by  facts  discovered  lately,  who 
can  assert  that  no  new  facts  shall  be  discovered  to-mor- 
r»w.  or.  fifty  or  a  hundred  years  hence,  which  will 
change  as  entirely  the  scientific  opinion  as  it  has  been 
beforl?      We  do  not  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  tacts 
which  the  geologists  state  ;  but  we  doubt  their  theoret- 
ical deductions,  because  we  doubt  the  sufficiency   ot 
their  facts  to  warrant  an  absolute  conclusion,  as  one 
new  fiict  may  change  the  whole   comb.nation       We 
shall,  therefore,  adhere  to  the  Word  of  God,  let  othe 
men  argue  as  they  please.     Still,  as  the  Mosaic  account 


Lect.  XL] 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


227 


does  not  enter  into  questions  of  science,  but  is  meant 
for  the  general  mind  of  men,  our  interpretation  of  its 
language  should  be  correspondently  liberal,  though  not 
licentious  to  a  degree  that  would  impeach  its  fundamen- 
tal accuracy. 

Thus  we  read  that  "  in  the  beginning  God  created 
the  heavens  and  the  earth."  When  "the  beginning" 
was,  is  not  stated ;  and  it  may  very  well  be  a  general 
compreliensive  statement  of  an  original  fact,  viz  :  the 
creation  of  the  substance  out  of  which  the  present 
order  of  things  was  framed  ;  and  not  necessarily  in- 
cluded by  the  first  day.  Nay,  this  might  seem  to  be 
intimated  by  the  statement  that  the  earth  was  without 
form  and  void  until  the  subsequent  mandates  of  Jeho- 
vah were  issued.  If  this  interpretation  be  received, 
we  can  consistently  allow  the  possibility  of  the  sub- 
stance of  things  having  existed  long  before  ;  and  that, 
antecedent  to  the  present  constitution,  other  forms  had 
been  given  to  such  substance;  a  supposition,  not  forbid- 
den, which  would  go  far  to  meet  the  main  objections 
derived  from  facts  discovered  in  the  deeper  parts  of  the 
earth  ;  while  the  fluxes  and  changes  of  the  waters  of 
which  Moses  speaks  are  confirmed  by  the  facts  of 
science. 

Again  ;  some,  from  motives  stated  a  little  while 
ago,  have  contended  that  '*  the  day  "  in  six  of  which 
"  all  things  were  made,"  does  not  mean  a  day  of  twenty- 
four  hours,  but  a  period  of  time  including,  it  may  be, 
centuries  or  thousands  of  years ;  but,  when  we  read 
closely,  such  an  assumption  is  unwarranted  ;  for  Moses 
expressly  limits  by  night  and  day,  as  we  do  our  day  — 
"  the  evening  and  the  morning  were  the  first  day,"  and 
so  with  the  other  ^ve ;  and,  besides,  on  the  seventh 


lAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XI. 


iH 


I 


day  he  rested,  and  from  that  fact  he  ordained  then, 
and  on  Mount  Sinai,  the  sacredness  of  the  Sabbath  to 
Ills  honor.  It  will  not,  therefore,  do  to  make  "  the 
day  "  indefinite  when  reading  one  verse,  and  confine  it 
to  twenty-four  hours  when  reading  another.  The  same 
t^  must  measure  each  and  all  of  the  seven. 

In  few  words,  then,  we  understand  by  the  account 
given  in  Genesis,  just  so  much,  no  more,  no  less,  as  an 
ordinary  yet  cautious  and  reverent  reader  would  under- 
stand by  it ;  that  God  in  the  beginning  made  all  things 
out  of  nothing,  and  that  in  six  days  he  gave  to  matter 
the  form  which  it  now  has,  and  created  man  body  and 
soul  to  be  the  inhabitant  of  the  world,  and  the  vice- 
gerent of  God  over  all  things  that  are  in  the  earth. 

We  now  know. 

Secondly  :  The  doctrine  held  by  its  when  we  assert 
this  first  article  of  the  creed :  I  believe  in  God,  the  Father 
Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth. 

The  catechumen  is  made  to  speak  in  the  firet  person 
(I  believe),  because  he  is  addressed  personally  and 
required  to  state  his  own  personal  faith  and  convictions ; 
yet  in  adopting  the  creed  of  the  true  Catholic  Church, 
he  declares  his  adherence  to  the  principles  of  faith  held 
by  the  whole  Church,  and,  therefore,  that  what  the 
creed  teaches  concerning  himself  is  equally  applicable 
to  all  genuine  Christians. 

Some  commentators  are  unnecessarily  anxious  to 
insist  upon  the  difference  between  "believing"  and 
"  believing  in,"  as  if  "  believing  "  were  simply  recog- 
nizing a  truth  to  be  true,  and  "  believing  in  "  implied 
trusting  in  or  relying  upon  that  truth.  Such  a  distinc- 
goii  is,  however,  by  no  means  universal  when  these 
terms  are  employed ;  yet,  as  was  shown  in  our  dis- 


Lect.  XL] 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


229 


course  on  Saving  Faith  (21st  Question  and  Answer), 
sincere  belief  in  the  blessed  truths  here  set  forth,  must 
be  accompanied  by  a  cordial  reliance  upon  them. 

The  answer  of  the  catechist  (to  the  26th  Quest.) 
declares  the  main  Christian  doctrine  here  professed : 
"  I  believe  "  "  that  the  eternal  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  .  .  .  is,  for  the  sake  of  Christ  his  Son,  my  God 
and  my  Father,''^  This  is  the  doctrine  of  Adoption; 
which  includes  two  things :  — 

I.  The  relation  which  God,  represented  by  the  First 
Person  of  the  Godhead,  the  Father,  graciously  bears  to 
all,  who  through  faith  are  represented  by  the  Second 
Person,  the  Son,  incarnate  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners ; 
and, 

II.  The  spirit  or  disposition,  which  all  those  thus 
adopted  bear  to  God  as  his  children. 

I.  The  relation  which  God,  represented  loy  the  Father, 
the  First  Person  of  the  Godhead,  graciously  bears  to 
all,  who  through  faith  are  represented  by  the  Second 
Person,  the  Son,  incarnate  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners. 

All  that  God  was  to  man  before  he  fell,  he  is  now 
graciously,  and  in  a  more  eminent  degree,  toward  sin- 
ners through  Christ  his  Son.  The  reconciliation,  by 
the  infinite  merits  of  the  Saviour  is  complete ;  and  in 
honor  of  his  Son,  he  advances  the  believer  to  far  higher 
honors  than  man,  though  he  had  continued  holy,  could 
ever  have  won  by  his  own  righteousness.  God  renews 
the  sinner  whom  he  calls  to  a  new  life,  by  begetting  in 
him  a  new  nature  through  the  word  of  his  Gospel 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  applies.  But  this  life,  though, 
like  the  life  given  in  his  first  creation,  it  bears  the  image 
of  God,  yet,  unlike  that,  is  not  liable  to  be  lost,  but  is 
derived  from  God  through  the  divine  Son  to  whom  he 


m 


«  

FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XL 


Lect.  Xr]  FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


231 


is  vitally  joined  by  faith,  as  a  member  of  the  body  of 
which  Christ  is  the  Head ;  and  is  maintained  in  him 
by  the  constant  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit     Hence  the 
Master  says  :  "  I  am  come  that  ye  might  have  life,  and 
that  ye  might  have  it  more  abundantly  ;  "  again  :  *'  My 
fiheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them,  and  they  fol- 
low me  ;Und  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life  ;  and  they 
ihftll  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  man  (i.  e,  any 
one)  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand ;      and  again,  ad- 
dressing his  Father :  "  Glorify  thy  Son  that  thy  Son 
also  may  glorify  thee ;  as  thou  hast  given  him  power 
over  all  flesh,  that  he  should  give  eternal  life  to  as 
many  as  thou  hast  given  him."      The  new  life  is  as 
infallible  and  incorraptible,  therefore  eternal,  as  is  the 
union  of  the  believer  to  the  Son,  and  as  is  the  favor  of 
the  Son  with  the  Father.     As  the  Son  by  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  partakes  of  our  human  nature,  so  the 
believer,  by  the  Holy  Ghost  dwelling  in  him,  is  (using 
the  strong  language  of  the  Apostle  Peter)  "  partaker 
of  the  divine  nature." 

For  the  same  reasons,  and  in  the  same  manner,  is 
the  fellowship  between  God  and  the  believer  more  inti- 
mate  and  full.     The  Son  is  near  to  the  Father ;  the 
believer  to  the  Son.     The  word  of  truth  is  enlarged 
for  his  benefit ;  the  communications  of  divine  knowl- 
edcre  hr  greater,  things  hidden  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world,  and  things  of  the  world  to  come,  are  re- 
vealed  ;  and,  especially,  does  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Illu- 
minator, dwell  in  him,  enabling  him  to  hear  and  under- 
stand the  language  of  the  Father's  love  to  his  soul ; 
while  the  privilege  of  prayer  based  on  the  merits  ot 
Christ,  and  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  is  equally 
inlarcred,  so  that  he  has  access  with   the  affectionate 
boldness  of  a  dear  child  to  the  throne  of  -race. 


So,  also,  with  his  inheritance.  It  is  as  superior  to 
God's  original  bestowal  on  innocent  man,  as  Christ's 
mediatorial  righteousness  is  to  any  possible  righteous- 
ness of  man.  The  eternal  life  which  Christ  ffives,  and 
the  communion  which  God  allows,  demand  for  their 
full  consummation,  a  higher,  purer,  more  glorious  and 
enduring  sphere  than  this  world  will  permit.  God  first 
gave  man  the  earth  ;  now  he  gives  him  heaven.  Christ 
came  from  heaven  to  dwell  with  the  believer,  and  he 
returns  to  heaven  that  the  believer  may  dwell  with  him 
there.  Christ's  home  as  the  Son  of  God  is  in  heaven  ; 
there  is  the  place  of  his  highest  dignity  and  honor ; 
and  there  is  the  believer's  home  as  the  child  of  God  in 
Christ,  and  there  will  he  share  in  all  the  dignity  and 
honor  of  his  Elder  Brother  forever. 

But  as  sin  yet  lingers  in  the  believer's  soul,  and  the 
effects  of  sin  are  in  his  body,  there  is  a  necessity  of  a 
purifying  process  before  he  is  fit  to  enter  upon  the  per- 
fection of  his  bliss.  Hence,  the  salutary  discipline 
which  God  by  affliction,  exerts  upon  the  believer's 
soul.  Even  Christ,  though  sinless,  yet  as  the  Head  of 
a  sinful  Church,  and  partaker  of  all  our  infirmities  ex- 
cept sin,  yet  "  as  a  Son,  learned  obedience  by  the  things 
which  he  suffered  ; "  and  as  the  Apostle  says :  "  If 
children,  then  heirs  ;  heirs  of  God  and  joint-heirs  with 
Christ ;  if  so  be  that  we  suffer  with  him  that  we  mav 
be  glorified  together."  Thus,  even  trial  is  a  most 
blessed  proof  of  God  our  Father's  love,  "  that  the 
trial  of  our  faith  being  much  more  precious  than  of 
gold  which  perisheth,  though  it  be  tried  with  fire,  might 
be  found  unto  praise  and  honor  and  glory  at  the  appear- 
ing of  Jesus  Christ." 

11.  The  spirit  or  disposition  of  the  adopted  ones  to 


232 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


CLect.  XI. 


God  as  their  Father,  is  correspondent  to  the  privileges 
of  the  adoption.  It  is  stated  in  the  answer  before  us. 
He  believes  and  asserts,  "that  the  eternal  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  (who  of  nothing  made  heaven 
and  earth,  with  all  that  in  them  is)  who  likewise  up- 
holds and  governs  the  same  by  his  eternal  counsel  and 
providence,  is,  for  the  sake  of  Christ  his  Son,  my  God 
and  my  Father ;  on  whom  I  rely  so  entirely  that  I  have 
no  doubt  but  that  he  will  make  whatever  evils  he  sends 
upon  me  in  this  valley  of  tears,  turn  out  for  my  advan- 
tage ;  for  he  is  able  to  do.it,  being  Almighty  God ;  and 
willing,  being  a  faithful  Father." 

1.  Here  is  a  spirit  of  reverence,  for  who  can  so  ap- 
proach the  holy  and  infinitely  majestic  God  without  deep 
awe  !  An  affectionate,  yet  humble  fear,  is  a  necessary 
characteristic  of  a  child  of  God.  It  includes,  also, 
a  spirit  of  obedience,  for  now  there  is  a  double  claim 
upon  his  service ;  the  claim  of  God  as  his  Creator,  and 
the  claim  of  God  as  his  loving  Father  in  Christ.  He 
l)elongs  wholly  to  God  his  owner,  and  now  his  Redeemer 
in  Christ,  the  author  of  his  natural  life,  and  the  author  of 
his  spiritual  eternal  life.  How  can  he  hesitate  to  believe 
the  commands  of  such  a  Father  to  be  wise  and  kind  ? 
How  can  he  hesitate  to  obey  that  divine  Father  who  is 
so  merciful  to  him  in  this  life,  and  has  provided  for  him 
such  a  glorious  bliss  in  the  life  to  come  ?  For  the  same 
reason  it  includes  submission  and  resignation  to  all 
God's  dispensations,  since  God  has  a  right  to  do  what 
he  will  with  his  own,  and  the  heavenly  Father  will  do 
nothing  hurtful  to  his  child. 

2.  But  here  is,  also,  the  spirit  of  confidence.  God, 
the  Almighty  Maker  of  all  things,  must  be  the  Disposer 
of  all  things ;  therefore,  all  things  are  his  to  order  as 


Lbct.  XL] 


FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


233 


he  pleases.  Thus  assured  of  his  power,  the  believer  is, 
also,  sure  of  the  willingness  of  God  to  do  all  things 
necessary  and  profitable  for  his  best  good,  because  God 
is  his  faithful  Father.  Therefore,  he  is  "  not  afraid  of 
evil  tidings,  his  heart  is  fixed  trusting  in  God."  He 
dreads  no  want,  for  all  things  are  in  his  Father's  hand. 
He  quails  before  no  enemy ;  his  Father  is  stronger  than 
all  that  can  be  against  him.  He  shrinks  from  no  trial 
in  the  path  of  his  duty,  for  he  knows  that  the  angel  of 
the  covenant  is  in  the  midst  of  the  flame ;  and,  when 
called  to  die  he  is  triumphant,  for  he  can  say:  "Now, 
0  Father,  I  come  to  thee."  "  All  things  are  yours," 
says  the  holy  Paul,  ..."  the  w^orid,  or  life,  or  death, 
or  things  present,  or  things  to  come ;  all  are  yours ; 
and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's." 

Thanks  to  thee,  O  blessed  Father,  for  such  an  adop- 
tion !  Thanks  to  thee,  O  blessed  Son,  for  thy  merits, 
which  commend  us  to  God  !  Thanks  to  thee,  O  blessed 
Holy  Spirit,  by  whose  grace  we  draw  nigh  to  God's 
embrace  !  Thanks  !  Thanks  I  Thanks  eternal,  O 
blessed  Trinity,  God  of  our  life,  God  of  our  mercies, 
God  of  our  hope  I 

And  O,  grant  when  all  thy  children  are  brought 
home  safely  to  thy  heavenly  house,  there  may  be 
wanting  not  one  of  all  these  before  thee  this  day  I 

Amen. 


LECTURE  XII. 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


I 


kwi 


I 


M 


'# 


11 


}i 


TENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE  PROVIDENCE   OF  GOD. 

Quest.  XXVII.     What  dost  thou  mean  by  the  Providence  of  Godf 

Ans.  The  almighty  and  everywhere  present  power  of  God,  whereby  as  it 
were  by  his  hand,  he  upholds  and  governs  heaven,  earth,  and  all 
creatures ;  so  that  herbs  and  grass,  rain  and  drought,  fruitful  and  bar- 
ren years,  meat  and  drink,  health  and  sickness,  riches  and  poverty, 
yea,  and  all  things  come,  not  by  chance,  but  by  his  fatherly  hand. 

Quest.  XXVIII.  What  advantage  is  it  for  us  to  know  that  God  has  created, 
aiid  by  his  Providence  doth  still  uphold  aU  things  ? 

Ans.  That  we  may  be  patient  in  adversitj-^,  thankful  in  prosperity ;  and 
that  in  all  things  which  may  hereafter  befall  us,  we  place  our  firm 
trust  in  our  faithful  God  and  Father,  that  nothing  shall  separate  us 
from  his  love ;  since  all  creatures  are  so  in  his  hand,  that  without  his 
will  they  cannot  so  much  as  move. 


npHE  lesson  of  the  Ninth  Lord's  Day  sets  forth  two 
■^  principal  things  which  must  be  kept  in  mind  for  a 
better  understanding  of  the  lesson  before  us  :  1.  That 
God,  the  Creator  of  all  things,  is  the  eternal  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  2.  That  he  is,  for  the 
sake  of  his  Son,  the  God  and  Father  of  all  who  believe 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Saviour ;  from  which 
truths  we  were  taught  to  infer  the  duty  and  privilege 
of  relying  confidently  and  entirely  on  his  almighty  and 
gracious  will,  as  the  certain  source  of  all  things  requisite 
for  body  and  soul,  for  time  and  eternity.  But  that  this 
eminent  comfort  of  the  believer  might  be  fully  assured, 
there  must  be  added  to  the  fact  of  creation  by  God 
alone,  the  consequential  fact  of  his  all-wise,  supreme, 
and  unceasing  government  over  all  he  has  made.  This 
constant  and  universal  government,   the  Catechism, 


'n 


238 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  [I^ect.  XII. 


agreeably  to  general  usage,  has  in  the  26th  Question 
and  Answer  called  Providence,  and 

The  doctrine  of  Divine  Providence,  with  the  Practical 
Lessons  which  it  suggests,  is  the  subject  for  our  study 

to~ciav 

The   doctrine  is  stated  in  the  answer  to  the  27th 
Question  ;   the  lessons  are  given  in  that  to  the  28th. 

First  ;  Xhe  doctrine  of  Divine  Providence. 

We  unhesitatingly  and  thankfully  adopt  the  state- 
ment of  it  supplied  by  our  Church  : 

"  What  dost  tiiou  mean  by  the  Providence  of  God  ? 

«»Tlie  almicrhty  and  everywhere  present  power  of 

God,   whereby  as  it  were  by  his   hand,  he    upholds 

mill  governs  heaven,  earth,  and  all  creatures  ;  so  that 

herbs  and  grass,  rain  and  drought,  fruitful  and  barren 

years,  meat  and  drink,  health  and  sickness,  riches  and 

poverty,  yea,  and  all  things  come,  not  by  chance,  but 

bv  his  fatherly  hand." 

"  Following  this  our  guide,  we  are  to  consider  :  I.  The 

sicrnification  of  the  phrase  ;  Providence  of  God.     II. 

Tte  fiict  of  such   Providence.     III.    The  extent  of 

Divine  Providence.     IV.  The  particularity  of  Divine 

Providence. 

I.  The  signification  of  the  phrase:  Providence  ot  Cxod. 

1.  The  word  providence  occurs  only  once  in  the 
Scriptures,  where  Tertullus,  opening  his  action  against 
Paul,  and  addressing  Felix,  says  :  "  Very  worthy  deeds 
are  done  unto  this  nation  by  thy  providence,"  that  is, 
by  the  vigor  and  skill  of  his  administration  ;  but  Chris- 
tians ha\^  universally  adopted  it,  or  its  equivalent,  in 
their  several  languages,  as  aptly  descriptive  of  the  great 
work  here  ascribed  to  God. 

It  is  taken  from  the  Latin,  and  by  its  etymology 


Lectt.  XII.] 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


289 


means  foresight,  not  merely  in  the  sense  of  seeing  be- 
fore (as  then  it  would  be  previdence  or  jt^r^science)  but 
in  the  sense  of  taking  care  *  for  the  future,  or  rather 
an  ordering  of  things  and  events  after  a  predetermined 
intelligent  plan  ;  v^hich  supposes  wisdom  to  devise  and 
power  to  execute. 

2.  In  the  divine  mind  there  is,  properly  speaking, 
neither  past  nor  future,  hence  by  the  Providence  of 
God  we  understand  his  supreme  disposition  of  his  creat- 
ures according  to  the  infinitely  wise  counsel  of  his  own 
will.  Thus  it  is  not  only  an  operation  but  an  economy ; 
and  when  the  Catechism  here  speaks  of  "  the  almighty 
and  everywhere  present  power  of  God,"  it  means  the 
sovereignty  of  God  systematically,  constantly,  and  uni- 
versally active,  "  whereby  (as  it  were  by  his  hand)  he 
upholds  and  governs  heaven,  earth,  and  all  creatures  ; " 
or  as  the  Westminster  Assembly's  Catechism  has  it: 
"His  most  holy,  wise,  and  powerful  preserving  and 
governing  all  his  creatures,  and  all  their  actions." 

II.  The  fact  of  such  a  Providence. 

1.  The  testimony  of  Scripture  to  Providence  is  so 
general,  explicit,  and  strong,  that  the  citation  of  partic- 
ular texts  is  hardly  necessary.  It  is  the  joy  of  all  be- 
lievers to  know  that  the  Lord  reigneth,  and  that  "  he 
doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven  and 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth ; "  that  his  doings 
are  neither  capricious  nor  uncertain,  but  that  "  known 
unto  the  Lord  are  all  his  works  from  the  beginning," 
because  he  "  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his 
own  will,"  "  according  to  the  eternal  purpose  which  he 
purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

But  for  his  Providence,  where  would  be  the  govern- 

*  Such  is  the  classical  force  of  pro  in  composition. 


240 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


[Lbct.  XII. 


Lect.  XII.] 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


241 


.|l 


I? 
ft' 


ment  everywhere  ascribed  to  him  ?  Where  the  truth 
of  the  prophecies  he  inspired  holy  men  to  utter  ?  Where 
the  faithfulness  of  his  promises  on  which  he  encourages 
us  to  rely  ?  Where  the  certainty  of  his  rewards  pro- 
posed to  the  obedient,  or  of  his  penalties  threatened 
against  the  trangressor  ?  All  his  declarations  are  based 
upon  his  efficiency  to  carry  out  his  determinations  ;  so 
ikH  without  Providence  tliere  can  be  no  order,  no  con- 
fidence, no  justice,  no  hope. 

2.    Reason    abundantly  confirms    the   testimony  of 

Scripture ;  from 

A,  (d  priori,')      The  being,  perfections,  and  creation 

of  God. 

a.  When  we  admit  the  existence  of  God,  we  admit 
his  sovereignty.  It  enters  into  our  definition  of  God. 
Take  away  the  idea  of  supreme  rule  from  him,  and  you 
denied  what  is  meant,  what  all  understand,  by 


5.  It  is  necessary  to  his  power ;  for  latent  power  in  a 
being,  whom  we  can  know  only  by  his  manifestations 
nf  liTmself,  is,  for  us,  all  the  same  as  inertness.  It  is 
neisessary  to  his  wisdom  ;  for  without  application  in  the 
exercise  of  his  power,  it  is  equally  undiscoverable.  It 
is  necessary  to  his  moral  attributes  of  holiness  and 
goodness ;  for  how  can  we  conceive  of  a  being  worthy 
of  adoration,  service,  and  trust,  who  gives  no  evidence 
of  regard  for  justice,  or  afiection  for  his  subjects  ? 

c.  And  this  the  more  since  we  know  the  fact  of  his 
creation.  Was  the  construction  from  nothing  of  this 
vast,  complicated,  harmonious  system  of  things,  a  mere 
passing  amusement  for  its  Maker,  a  mere  caprice,  an 
idle,  purposeless  stroke  of  kis  hand,  that  he  should  cast 
it  aside  when  done,  as  iinworttij  of  his  farther  care? 


Has  he  called  into  conscious  being  so  many  intelliaent 
creatures,  dependent  for  knowledge  and  happiness  upon 
circumstances  utterly  above  their  management,  to  leave 
them  in  their  weakness,  blindness,  and  yearning  anxie- 
ties,  the  sport  of  chance,  the  prey  of  necessity,  the  vic- 
tims of  ignorance  ?  Will  the  divine  Father  abandon 
his  children  ?  Will  the  Author  of  all  things  despise 
the  works  of  his  own  hands  ? 

B,  (a  posteriori.}  The  frame  and  order  of  the  uni- 
verse, physical  and  moral. 

a.  When  we  observe,  though  superficially,  the  nature 
of  things   around  us,  and  with  which  we  have  neces- 
sarily more  or  less  to  do,  we  cannot  fail  to  see  that  there 
is  a  systematic  arrangement  by  which  very  many  things, 
each  having  its  peculiar  characteristics,  are  combined  as 
a  harmonious  whole ;  and  that,  though  there  are  con- 
tinual changes  and  successions,  the  original  organization 
is  maintained  by  an  all-pervading  energy,  operating  uni- 
formly through  what  are  popularly  denominated  causes, 
or  as  we  prefer  to  say,  according  to  certain  laws.  These 
great  facts,  though  at  once  obvious,  are  more  fully  ap- 
parent, the  farther  and  more  closely  we  investigate.     It 
is,  in  fact,  the  whole  object  and  business  of  science, 
through  all  its  departments,  to  discover  these  laws  and 
bring  them  within  the  reach  of  our  uses ;  for  it  is  upon 
our  conformity  to  these  laws  that  our  welfare  depends. 
These  laws,  being  applied  by  special  adaptations  to  the 
many  various  things  in  their  various  purposes,  seem,  at 
first  sight,  to  be  almost  innumerable ;  each  (so  called) 
kingdom  of  nature,  animal,  mineral,  and  vegetable,  nay, 
each  thing  in  each  of  those  kingdoms,  being  under  a 
peculiar  regulation,  yet  when   followed   out,  coalesce 
into  fewer,  as  we  see  them  pervading  all,  until  we  reach 

VOL.  I.  16 


i! 


Aw 


242  .  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  [L«<«-  XII. 

a  point  where  they  converge,  compelling  the  logical 

•  »•       thot  t>ipre  is  one  law  supreme  over  all,  one 
conviction,  that  there  is  one  i»         f 

grand  centre  from  which  they  all  radiate.  Wha  is 
Tat  grand  source,  that  sovereign  law,  b«t  the  .n  1  of 
the  Creator  ?  For  nothing  is  more  clear  than  that  no 
one  of  those  phenomena  (or  appearances)  which  are 
Lied  causes,  has  in  itself  the  force  to  produce  what  is 
3  S  its  effect,  since  it  is  itselfan  effect  of  a  cause  pre- 
ceding  it,  and  so  backward  as  far  as  we  can  trace  the 
succefsion.      There  must  be,  therefore,  an  onginal^n- 

gle  force  operating  through  all  these  e^oF-'^'^'t  thele 
Conflicting  causes.    But  is  it  not  equally  dear  hat  hese 
laws  of  operation  proceed  from  an  '"tf 'g^"'^;"  " - 
And  as  these  laws  are  operative  throughout  all  thin^, 
combining  them  as  a  consistent  whole,  that  that  intelli- 
gent will  is  imperial,  supreme,  and  one  ?     If  no  one 
^ina,  or  change  of  a  thing,  occurs  by  chance,  or  pro- 
duces  itself,  or  is  independent  of  the  rest,  or  can  be 
separated  from  the  whole,  but  all  are  subject  as  parts  or 
as  combination,  to  law,  how  could  the  entire  system 
have  come  by  chance,  or  produced  itself,  or  in  any  way 
exist,  but  from   the  energy  of  an  almighty,  all-wise 
Will'     If  so,  is  not  the  same  almighty,  all-wise  W  HI 
which  was  necessary  to  create,  yet  more  necessary  to 
maintain  the  organization,  since  the  act  of  creation  was 
„  instant  exercise  of  omnipotence,  while  in  the  contin- 
uance of  the  moving  system  the  impelling  force  is  con- 
stant?     And,  if  so,  are  there  not  stronger  reasons  for 
the  Divine  will  to  maintain  it  than  there  were  for  its 
creation ;  since  not  to  maintain  would  be  to  destroy  the 
wonderful  structure  which  has  been  called  mto  exist. 
ence  out  of  nothing  ?     The  skilful  arrangements,  every- 
where seen,  for  the  continuance  of  the  economy,  prove 


Lect.  XII.] 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.' 


243 


the  design  of  the  Creator  that  it  shall  be  continued 
until  the  purpose  of  the  creation  is  reached  ;  and  the 
equally  certain  fact  that  these  arrangements  are  not 
themselves  causes,  or  of  themselves  efficient,  but  simply 
methods  through  which  the  almighty  will  operates, 
proves  that  the  Divine  power  is  and  shall  be  constantly 
put  forth  in  its  continuance.  To  sum  up  our  brief 
argument :  The  order  of  natural  things  demonstrates 
their  having  been  created  by  the  almighty  all-wise  God ; 
therefore,  the  active  continuance  of  that  order  must  be 
maintained  and  governed  by  God  alone. 

h.  A  similar  course  of  reasoning  proves  the  provi- 
dence of  God  over  moral  beings  and  events.  That 
there  is  a  distinction  between  right  and  wrong,  that 
God  has  created  conscious  intelligent  beings,  whose 
conduct  must  be  either  right  or  wrong,  and  that  their 
welfare  individually  and  collectively  is  inseparably  con- 
nected with  such,  their  moral  conduct,  no  one  will 
soberly  pretend  to  deny.  The  inference,  however,  is 
irresistible  that  there  is  a  system  of  moral  things  as 
there  is  a  system  of  things  physical ;  and  that,  as  there 
can  be  no  such  thing  as  chance,  the  order  of  moral 
events  is  presided  over  by  the  same  almighty,  all-wise 
will  which  has  ordained  the  connection  between  moral 
actions  and  their  retributory  consequences.  God,  by 
his  creation  of  moral  beings,  has  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  moral  economy ;  and  no  moral  event  can 
occur  outside  of  his  will,  that  is  without  his  determina- 
tion, except  through  his  indifference  or  impotence. 
That  he  is  indifferent  to  what  so  intimately  concerns 
the  welfare  of  his  creatures,  it  were  impious  denial  of 
his  character  to  assert ;  that  he  is  unable  to  exercise 
such  control,  is  as  inconsistent  with  his  essential  almigh- 


244 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OP  GOD.  [Lkct.  XII. 


Lect.  XII.] 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


246 


II 


^ness-    but,  as   the  moral  events  which   concern   his 
moral' creatures  are  intimately  and  systematically  con- 
tiected  with  their  moral  conduct,  so  their  moral  actions 
must  as  certainly  be  within  the  control  of  his  sover- 
eignty.      Thk  m  argue  farther  from  the  fact  that  men, 
for  the  most  part,  if  not  always,  immediately  or  more 
remotely,  make  use  of  physical  things  in  carrying  out 
their  moral  purposes  ;  and,  therefore,  if  uncontrolled, 
would  interfere  with  the  physical  order  which  God  has 
established ;  yet  farther,  from  the  fact  that  the  moral 
acts  of  an  individual  affect  necessarily  more  or  less  the 
welfare  of  other  moral  creatures  with  whom  he  is  sys- 
tematically connected.     The  denial  of  moral  providence 
would  be,  therefore,  to  put  the  order  of  physical  thmgs, 
and  the  welfare  of  other  moral  beings,  at  the  disposal 
of  any  individual  moral  agent.      Where  then  would  be 
the  Creator's  right  to  his  own  ?      Where  the  paternal 
government  of  God  over  his  moral  children  ?     Where 
his  power  to  punish  or  reward  ?     Where  the  knowledge 
of  distinction  between  right  and  wrong  ?     There  would 
be  an  end  of  truth,  of  certainty,  and  of  hope ;  and  the 
universe  would  be  abandoned  to  a  self-destructive  an- 
archy, until  it  became  worse  than  hell,  over  which  the 
power  of  God  is  dominant,  —  a  chaos  of  desires  and  pas- 
sions and  furious  actions,  where  the  vile  would  rage  and 
torment  without  check,  and  the  good  suffer  without  a 
possibility  of  escape.     There  is  no  avoiding  one  or  the 
other  of  these  conclusions  ;  the  divine  government  must 
be  supreme,  or  there  is  no  divine  government ;  eveiy 
moral  being  except  God  must  be  in  all  respects  his 
subject,  or  there  is  no  God ;  and  any,  even  the  least, 
Umitation  of  the  divine  control,  is  a  denial  of  divine 
control  altogether.      God,  I  speak  with   deep   rever- 


ence, must  be  over  all,  through  all,  all  in  all,  or  noth- 
ing. 

If  it  be  asked :  How  this  can  be  consistent  wn'th  that 
moral   freedom  of   the  creature   which   makes   him  a 
responsible  agent?    we  answer,  That  the  free  agency 
of  the  moral  being,  the  fact  of  which  every  one  knows 
by  his  own  consciousness  (and  there  can  be  no  higher 
proof),  must  be  the  freedom  of  a  creature,  and,  there- 
fore, limited  by  his  nature  and  the  circumstances  of  the 
economy  under  which  he  has  his  being.      His  being  a 
creature,  supposes  his  being  to  have  been  derived  and 
to  be  maintained ;  so  that  he  must  act  only  within  the 
limits  the  creative  will  has  set  to  his  agency.     A  bird  is 
not  without  freedom  as  a  bird,  because  he  cannot  live 
the  life  of  a  fish  ;  or  a  fish  because  he  cannot  live  the 
life  of  a  bird.     An  angel  is  not  without  freedom  as  an 
angel,  because  he  cannot  perform  the  corporeal  actions 
of  a  man :  or  a  man  because  his  spirit  here  is  incorpo- 
rated.    Neither  are  without  freedom,  because  the  organ- 
ization of  our  natures  makes  us  dependent  for  physical 
life  and  comforts  on  the  economy  of  physical  things 
around  us ;  because  we  must  have  food  and  shelter  and 
healthful  air,  or  we  die.     God  never  intended  that  we 
should  be  independent  of  him ;  though  he  did  intend 
for  us  the  opportunity  of  that  happiness  which  springs 
from  personal  choice  and  correspondent  action  ;  and, 
therefore,  with  our  freedom  he  ordained  the  system  of 
things  in  which  we  may  choose  and  act  for  our  own 
good  by  a  conformity  with  the  laws  which  he  has  estab- 
lished ;  yet  is  our  freedom  within  law;  and  by  the  opera- 
tion of  the  laws  of  the  economy  in  which  he  has  placed 
us,  and  to  which  he  has  adapted  our  natures,  he  holds 
us,  notwithstanding  our  freedom,  under  perfect  control. 


$S46 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


[Lect.  XII 


Lkct.  XII.] 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


247 


m 


He  never  forces  us  to  hanii  ourselves  by  doing  wrong, 
but  provides  methods  in  using  which  we  may  advan- 
tage ourselves  by  doing  right ;  yet  we  may  harm  our- 
sefves  by  doing  contrary  to  the  very  laws  which  he  has 
appointed  for  our  good.  That  which  he  prevents  us 
from,  he  -reserves  within  his  own  action  ;  that  only  in 
which  he  allows  m  to  act  is  within  our  freedom,  and 
consequently  within  our  moral  responsibility.  He  may 
slacken  the  reins,  but  never  lets  them  drop  from  his 

hands. 

Now,  we  do  not  say  that  the  methods  of  his  moral 
providence  can  be  always  as  distinctly  traced  as  those 
of  his  physical  rule  ;  natural  things  are  merely  passive, 
and  their  changes  being  from  his  power  alone  are  more 
obvious  ;  yet  it  cannot  be  that  his  moral  administration 
is  less  systematic,  and  could  we  trace  it  out  as  distinctly, 
we  should  perceive  it  to  be  equally  uniform.     As  it  is, 
the  history  of  individual  men  and  of  nations  clearly 
proves  that  wrong  is  punished  and  right  rewarded ;  or, 
if  present  inequalities  occur,  they  are  yet  to  be  com- 
pensated beyond  this  sphere.     This  last  fact  could  not, 
il  k  true,  be  discovered  by  our  unassisted  reason,  but 
divine  revelation  relieves  us  of  all  doubt.     If  you  ask 
again,  how  it  is  that  evil  exists  and  that  men  do  wrong 
when   God   could  have   prevented  it?      We  answer, 
that  it  is  not  for  us  to  accuse  or  defend  the  sovereign 
will  of  God ;  he  has  permitted  and  does  permit  evil, 
therefore,  he  must  have  the  best  reasons  for  such  per- 
mission, and  in   the    end  his   glory  will  be  manifest 
through  all ;  but  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  there 
is  a  wide  diiference  between  permitting  evil  to  occur 
through  the  unforced  action  of  his  moral  creatures, 
and  causing  it  to  occur  by  his  own  immediate  power  : 


nor  can  we  see  how  a  creature  could  be  free  to  choose 
virtue  or  the  right,  and  not  be  free  to  choose  sin  or  the 
wrong  ;  as  in  such  case,  all  morality  would  be  lost  in  a 
necessity.  As  it  is,  no  man,  let  him  dispute  as  he  will, 
can  put  himself  outside  of  the  moral  system  in  which 
God  has  placed  him ;  while  he  is  as  certainly  conscious 
that,  though  the  issues  of  his  actions  are  beyond  his 
control,  his  actions  themselves  spring  from  his  own 
choice.  Depraved  habit  may  superinduce  a  force  of 
tendency,  which  we  have  not  force  enough  of  will  to 
resist ;  but  the  tendency  is  acquired,  not  original,  and 
has  come  from  the  will  of  God  only  so  far  as  the  de- 
praving nature  of  sin  is  part  of  its  inevitable  punish- 
ment. The  common  sense  of  mankind  will  not  allow 
the  force  of  such  habit  to  avail  a  transgressor  of  human 
laws  ;  nor  will  it  be  tolerated  in  the  judgment  of  God. 
Philosophy,  falsely  so  called,  has  sometimes  argued  for 
such  a  necessity  in  men  ;  and  a  mawkish  sensibility 
over  criminal  suicides  of  their  own  well-being,  has 
pleaded  it  in  their  excuse ;  but  the  doctrine  in  either 
case  is  as  contrary  to  the  practical  reasoning  of  the 
world  as  it  is  to  the  declarations  of  inspired  Scripture  ; 
for  according  to  both  it  is  subversive  of  all  morality, 
of  human  responsibility,  and  of  divine  government,  re- 
ducing men  below  the  brute. 

III.  The  extent  of  Divine  Providence. 

It  is,  says  the  Catechism,  "  The  almighty  and  every- 
where present  power  of  God,  whereby,  as  it  were  by 
his  hand,  he  upholds  and  governs  heaven,  earth, 
and  all  creatures."  This  is  in  accordance  with  our 
argument,  for  if  there  be  any  force  in  our  previous 
reasoning.  Providence  must  be  commensurate  with 
creation,  and  continuous  as  its  continuance.     The  up- 


''3BftO 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


[Lkct.  xn. 


holding  or  maintenance  of  things  as  they  exist  is  as 
necessarily  an  act  of  divine  power,  as  the  calling  of 
them  into  existence  out  of  nothing  ;  and,  as  the  entire 
universe  is  the  creation  of  one  almighty,  all-wise  will, 
so  it  must  all  be  comprehended  by  the  purpose  of  that 
divine  will,  and,  therefore,  constitute  one  grand  system 
of  active  laws  ;  for  the  preservation  of  which  economy 
a  constant  government  by  its  Divine  Author  is  both 
morally  and  physically  essential. 

Such  is  the  extent  assigned  to  the  government  of 
God  in  innumerable  passages  of  Holy  Scripture ;  and 
many  corroboratory  evidences  of  the  fact  are  discover- 
able by  an  observant  reason.  Science  has  demonstrated 
that  the  various  parts  of  the  universe,  within  its  ken, 
are  held  together  in  harmonious  motion  by  the  two 
grand  laws  of  attraction  and  repulsion  ;  that  there 
is  nothing  so  minute  as  to  be  beneath  them,  nothing 
so  vast  as  to  be  beyond  them  ;  nay,  that  there  could 
not  be  a  suspension  or  violation  of  either  law  in 
any  part  without  producing  confusion  and  destruction 
throughout  all,  such  is  the  exactness  of  the  balance 
with  which  the  apparently  opposing  forces  are  harmo- 
nized by  the  divine  rule.  The  doctrine  of  the  New 
Testament  is,  that  all  providence  is  committed  to  the 
hands  of  Christ,  the  Mediator,  for  the  accomplishment 
of  his  covenant  purpose  toward  the  Church ;  and, 
therefore,  in  their  nearer  or  more  remote  relations, 
"  all  things  "  work  together  under  his  kingly  directions, 
that  God  "according  to  his  good  pleasure  which  he 
hath  purposed  in  himself  ...  in  the  dispensation  of  the 
fiilness  of  times  .  .  .  might  gather  together  in  one  all 
things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which 
are  in  earth  ;  even  in  him."  Hence  the  doxology  of  the 


Lkct.  XII.] 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


249 


four  and  twenty  elders  before  the  throne  :  "  Thou  art 
worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory  and  honor  and  power; 
for  thou  hast  created  all  things  and  for  thy  pleasure 
they  are  and  were  created ;  "  hence  also  John  the  rev- 
elator  heard  "  every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and 
on  the  earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in 
the  sea  and  all  that  are  in  them  .  .  .  saying :  Blessing 
and  honor  and  glory  and  power  be  unto  him  that  sit- 
teth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and 
ever."     From  this,  and  many  other  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture, it  would  appear  that  a  universal  providence  is 
necessary  to  the   carrying  on,  and  completion  of  the 
plan   ordained   for   the   redemption  by  Christ  of  the 
Church,  '  which  is  his  body,  the   fulness  of  him  that 
filleth  all  in  all." 

IV.  The  particularity  of  Divine  Providence. 

Our  Church,  ever  mindful  of  its  design  to  put  the 
answers  of  the  Catechism  into  the  mouth  of  each  pious 
believer,  specifies  some  of  those  things  which  more  im- 
mediately affect  his  experience  here :  "  Herbs  and  grass 
(or  all  vegetation,)  rain  and  drought,  fruitful  and  bar- 
ren years,  meat  (food)  and  drink,  health  and  sickness, 
riches  and  poverty,  yea,  and  all  things,  come  not  by 
chance,  but  by  his  fatherly  hand."  But  for  the  same 
reason  that  some  events  are  particularly  ordered  by 
God  all  must  be  ;  and  the  whole  of  our  previous  argu- 
ment goes  to  show  the  fact  and  the  necessity  of  such 
particular  action  on  the  part  of  God  in  his  providence. 

The  order  and  arrangement  of  laws  under  which  all 
things  are  placed  by  the  almighty  will,  because  it  proves 
an  all-wise  design,  proves  a  universal  •  providence  ;  but, 
also,  as  the  economy  is  a  combination  of  parts,  each 
under  its  own  laws  consistent  with  the  general  laws,  it 


250 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF   GOD. 


[Lect.  XII 


proves  a  particular  attention  of  Providence  to  each 
part  or  process,  and  to  the  operation  of  the  laws  which 
concern  it.     In  fact,  it  is  upon  the  divine  regulation  of 
each  and  every  part,  that  the  continuance  of  the  whole 
system  depends.     As  in  a  vast  complication  of  machin- 
ery, if  you  take  away  a  single  wheel,  or  connection 
between  the  wheels,  the  whole  is  checked,  or  made  to 
work  wrongly,  or  even  to  destroy  itself  by  its  own  dis- 
arrano-ed  forces  ;  so  it  would  be  with  the  movements 
<rf  ikm  providential  economy.     They  mutually  depend 
on  each  other.     If  you  balance  a  pair  of  scales  on 
either  side  by  portions  of  sand,  it  is,  indeed,  the  aggre- 
gate weight  on  each  scale  that  maintains  the  equilib- 
rium, yet,  were  the  beam  adjusted  with  sufficient  deli- 
cacy, Ihf  taking  away  of  a  single  grain  from  either 
would  give  the  preponderance  ;  so  it  is  with  the  system 
of  worlds,  which  worlds  are  made  up  of  atoms.      Each 
atom  has  its  weight,  as  well  as  the  vastest  orb  that  rolls 
along  its  circuit  singing  of  its  Maker's  power.    Again  : 
we  see  that  though  there  are  processes  common  to  dif- 
ferent departments  of  nature  animate  and  inanimate, 
yet  that  each  individual  of  the  class  has  its  own  pecul- 
iar place  and  history.      You  look  over  a  meadow  field ; 
it  is  all  waving  in  green  except  where  it  is  sprinkled 
witlt  mid  flowers ;  but  examine  more  closely  and  you 
see  that  the  mass  of  verdure  is  not  one  and  single ; 
but  that  it  is  made  up  of  separate  individual  plants, 
each  of  which  has  sprung  from  its  own  seed,  and  has 
its  own  life  subject  to  accidents  peculiar  to  itself.     So 
it  Is  with  the  animal  creation.     Each  conscious  being 
has  his  own  experience,  differing  from  that  of  all  others 
in  some  discoverable  particulars,  while  it  is  with  all  the 
others  subject  to  the  laws  which  preside  over  the  family 


Lect.  XII.] 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


251 


to  which  it  belongs.     So  it  is  with  intelligent  commu- 
nities.    Take  our  own  nation  under  its  admirable  sys- 
tem of  government.     One  grand  law  of  the  constitu- 
tion presides  over  it  as  a  whole  ;  yet  each  State  of  the 
confederacy  has  its  distinctly  recognized  individuality, 
each  county  in  the  State,  each  town  in  the  county,  each 
subdivision  of  the  town,  nay,  each  individual  citizen 
has  peculiar  rights  and  a  peculiar  action.     The  Execu- 
tive President  at  the  head  of  all  is  one  ;  but  he  repre- 
sents  the   constitutional   will  of  the   nation,  yet   the 
nation  not  as  a  single  mass,  but  every  individual  citizen 
who  contributes  his  individuality  to  make  up  the  aggre- 
gate people.     So,  though  with  infinitely  greater  right 
and  power  and  wisdom,  doth  the  Supreme  Lord,  the 
Creator,  rule,  through  the  operation  of  his  own  divinely 
appointed  laws,  the  universe  he  has  made,  by  ruling 
over  each  individual  creature,  event,  and  process.    The 
tallest  angel  before  his  throne,  and  the  least  insect  that 
lives  its  little  life  and  dies  in  an  hour,  are  equally  de- 
pendent upon  his  constant  care.     The  history  of  man- 
kind under  his  controlling  will,  is  the  aggregate  of  the 
history  of  each  individual  of  the  race.     We  may  not 
be  able  to  trace  the  connection,  but  could  we  see  as  he 
sees,  it  would  be  all  manifest ;  and  as  the  weaver  forms 
the  long,  wide  web  by  adding  thread  to  thread  in  the 
woof  and  warp,  so  does  he  by  his  constant,  unerring 
control  of  each  and  all,  accomplish  the  result  of  his 
infinite  design. 

Is  it  objected  to  this,  that  it  deprives  men's  actions 
of  their  freedom  ?  We  answered  the  cavil  in  a  former 
l)art  of  our  argument.  He  does  not  force  our  actions. 
We  are  free  to  act  within  the  limits  of  the  constitution 
of  law  he  has  ordained,  —  but  he  does  control  the  con- 


252 


THE  PROVroENCE  OF  GOD. 


[Lect.  XIL 


sequences  of  our  actions,  else  would  he  cease  to  be  God,  * 
and  each  man  cease  to  be  his  subject.  Wise  and  good 
laws,  so  far  from  endangering  freedom,  are  essentially 
necessary  to  its  preservation  ;  and  all  the  laws  of  God  are 
infinitely  wise,  infinitely  good  ;  if  we  conform  to  them, 
we  live  ;  if  we  dash  ourselves  against  them,  we  perish. 
Is  it  objected  again,  that  such  particularity  is  beneath 
the  infinite  God  ?  We  answer,  that  as  it  was  not  be- 
neath him  to  create  particular  things,  it  cannot  be  to 
take  care  of  particular  things  ;  as  it  was  not  beneath 
him  to  ordain  particular  laws,  it  is  not  beneath  him  to 
execute  them  ;  it  is  not  beneath  him  to  know  each 
thing,  for  he  is  omniscient ;  it  is  not  beneath  him  to  do 
or  control  each  thing,  for  he  is?  omnipotent ;  it  is  not 
beneath  him  to  be  everywhere,  and,  therefore,  it  is  not 
beneath  him  to  be  everywhere  the  all-wise,  almighty 
Ruler  of  each  and  of  all  things  which  he  has  made. 

Is  it  further  objected,  that,  as  God  has  been  pleased 
to  ci'eate  things  in  a  perfect  system,  a  sufficient  impulse 
may  have  been  given  to  the  universe  as  a  whole  as  well 
m  in  its  parts,  and  it  is  not  necessary  that  he  should 
continue  to  exercise  his  power,  but  might  leave  the  sys- 
tem to  evolve  itself  from  the  force  originally  given. 
We  answer,  (as  once  before,)  that  that  would  be  to 
make  the  organized  universe  a  machine,  such  as  men 
construct  to  assist  their  weakness.  God  sends  no  such 
contrivance,  and  it  is  far  more  in  accordance  with  his 
infinite  excellence  to  believe  that  his  power  is  every- 
where, and  continually,  directly  active.  The  almighty 
God  has  neither  difficulty  nor  w^eariness  in  his  works. 

Is  it  asked,  why,  then,  are  we  commanded  to  pray, 
since  God  acts  in  everything,  even  the  least,  according 
to  a  plan  which  he  will  not  alter  to  suit  our  wish  ?   We 


Lbct.  xii.] 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


253 


answer,  certainly  prayer  will  not  so  control  the  divine 
plan  as  to  make  it  vary  from  his  purpose,  for  then  the 
events  would  be  as  contradictory  as  are  the  wishes  of 
men  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  carries  on  his  plan  by 
operating  through  laws  he  has  seen  fit  to  impose ;  and 
it  is  one  of  those  laws,  that  prayer  founded  upon  the 
promises  he  has  revealed  shall  be  answered,  a  law  as 
certain  in  its  operation  as  any  other,  though  we  cannot 
see  as  distinctly  the  connection  between  the  prayer  and 
its  fulfilment ;  and,  therefore,  prayer  must  be  used  to 
obtain  our  desires  from  God  as  much  as  any  physical 
law^  regulating  what  is  called  cause  and  effect.     Thus 
the  grand  law  of  his  evangelical  system,  prescribed  to 
Christ  himself  its  mediatorial  head,  is :    "  Ask  and  I 
will  give  thee."     For  observe,  that  God  does  not  en- 
gage to  answer  all  prayer,  but  prayers  offered  in  faith, 
or  prayer  based  upon  the  promises  he  has  revealed,  and, 
therefore,   prayer    for    things    agreeably   to    his   will. 
•*  This,"  says  the  Apostle  John,  "  is  the  confidence 
that  we  have  in  him,  that  if  we  ask  anything  accord- 
ing to  his  will  he  heareth  us  ;  it  must  be  according  to 
his  directions  as  to  what  we  should  pray  for,  and  our 
prayer  is  the  method  through  which  his  will  is  accom- 
plished.    By  prayer  we  put  ourselves  in  harmony  of 
purpose  with  himself,  and  in  his  answer  to  our  prayer, 
he  performs  his  own  will ;  still  the  prayer  is  the  method 
of  our  obtaining  what  we  desire,  without  which  the 
blessing  would  not  occur.     Various  good  reasons  might 
be  given,  if  we  had  the  time,  for  this  ordained  connec- 
tion between  prayer  and  the  event  sought  for ;  but  the 
principal  are,  the  spiritual  benefit  it  is  of  to  the  peti- 
tioner, and  the  stimulus  it  gives  him  to  personal  exer- 
tion, according  to  the  divine  direction,  to  secure  the 


254 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


[Lect.  XII. 


things  we  pray  for  ;  because  the  blessing  is  not  vouch- 
safed to  those  who  only  pray,  but  to  those  who  work  as 
well  as  pray.  It  might  as  well  be  asked  why,  since 
the  will  of  God  must  be  done,  we  must  work,  as  why 
should  we  pray  ?  The  will  of  God  must  be  done,  but 
it  is  done  by  answering  our  prayer,  and  blessing  our 
zeal ;  or,  equally,  in  withholding  from  us  what  we  de- 
sire because  we  do  not  pray  and  work.  The  law  is  not 
iir  any  necessity  on  the  part  of  God,  since  he  is  su- 
premely independent  of  second  causes  ;  but  it  is  for  our 
benefit  that  we  may  be  brought  in  will  and  effort  to  a 
cordial  concurrence  with  God.  In  a  word,  prayer  with 
correspondent  action,  is  a  right  use  of  that  free  agency 
which  God  allows  us  under  the  laws  of  his  kingdom  ; 
and  not  the  least  evidence  of  his  fatherly  care  for  his 
human  children. 

Secondly  :  The  Practical  Lessons  which  the  doc- 
trine of  divine  Providence  suggests. 

What  advantage  is  it  far  us  to  know  that  God  has 
created^   and  by  his  providence  doth    still    uphold  all 

things  ? 

*'  That  we  may  be  patient  in  adversity,  thankful  in 
prosperity,  and  that  in  all  things  which  may  hereafter 
befall  us,  we  place  our  firm  trust  in  our  faithful  God 
and  Father,  that  nothing  shall  separate  us  from  his  love ; 
since  all  creatures  are  so  in  his  hand,  that  without  his  . 
will  they  cannot  so  much  as  move." 

I.  To  adore  God,  the  Creator  and  Lord  of  Providence, 
as  our  Father  in  Christ. 

The  faith  which  unites  us  to  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
makes  us  the  children  of  God.  Represented  by  Christ, 
we  are  made  partakers  of  all  the  blessings  which  he 
enjoys  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  of  all  the  rewards  which 


LscT.  X||,| 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


255 


he  has  earned  by  his  mediatorial  righteousness.  With 
him  the  Father  is  well  pleased,  and  for  his  sake  he  is 
well  pleased  with  us,  unworthy  and  guilty  as  we  are  by 
nature,  because  washed  from  our  guilt  by  Christ's  blood 
and  covered  by  his  merits.  It  is,  therefore,  not  with 
slavish  fear,  but  a  reverent,  filial  boldness  that  we  are 
to  approach  God  through  Christ,  rejoicing  in  his  love, 
and  making  our  refuge  under  the  very  shadow  of  his 
throne. 

All  providence  has  been  committed  by  the  Father  to 
tlie  hands  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ ;  and  he  administers 
it  for  the  advantage  of  the  adopted  family,  whose  Elder 
Brother  he  is,  as  a  Son  over  his  Father's  house.  All 
things  belong  to  God,  and  the  Father  hath  given  them 
all  to  the  Son,  and  the  Son  shares  them  all  with  us.  It 
is,  therefore,  as  heirs  of  God,  because  joint  heirs  with 
Christ,  that  we  are  to  worship  him  whose  all  things 
are,  assured  of  his  faithfulness  because  of  the  covenant 
which  God  has  made  with  us  in  Christ  our  Lord. 

This  spirit  of  adoption,  springs  from  no  imagination 
or  pretension  of  our  own,  but  from  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  sent  of  the  Father  through  the  Inter- 
cessor to  dwell  in  us ;  and  is,  therefore,  the  voice  of 
God  in  our  hearts  calling  us  to  him  as  children  to  a 
Father.  It  is  the  Spirit  witnessing  with  our  spirits  that 
we  are  children  of  God  ;  nor  will  he  refi^ise  to  answer 
the  filial  reliance  which  he  has  himself  inspired.  Such 
in  general,  is  the  affectionate  sentiment  of  adoring  hom- 
age which  we  should  offer  to  God. 

II.  This  filial  adoration  will  cultivate  in  us  an  entire 
confidence  that  all  things  will  work,  and  are  working, 
for  our  good,  if  we  love  God.  Nothing  can  harm  us, 
for  all  things  are  under  his  control ;  everything  is  for 


THE  PROTIDENCE  OF  GOD. 


[Lkct.  XII. 


US,  because  all  things  are  directed  by  his  hand.  The 
end  of  providence  is  "  for  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
grace"  in  Christ  Jesus,  wherein  he  hath  made  us  ac- 
cepted in  the  Beloved.  He  has  ordained  that  his 
glory  shall  be  in  the  full  salvation  of  his  Church,  and 
he  has  so  linked  our  blessedness  with  his  own,  that  his 
power  and  wisdom  and  truth  in  all  his  operations  are 
as  certainly  for  his  people  as  they  are  for  himself. 

How  patient  then  should  we  be  in  adversity  I  We 
caE  many  trials  which  come  upon  us  here  adversity, 
for  such  is  the  common  phraseology  of  the  world  ;  but 
they  are  only  adversity  in  seeming ;  they  cannot  be 
really  so  since  they  are  dispensed  by  our  Father's  hand. 
The  ways  of  providence  may  be  to  us  mysterious,  for 
how  can  we  enter  into  the  wisdom  of  God  ?  They 
may  seem  dilatory  ;  for  we  cannot  see,  as  God  sees,  the 
end  with  the  beginning.  The  ways  of  providence  may 
seem  hard  ;  but  their  hardness  is  only  the  merciful 
severity  of  a  wise  Father's  faithful  love,  disciplining 
us  to  a  fitness  for  a  higher  bliss. 

Hpw  thankful  should  we  be  in  prosperity  !  When 
we  consider  how  tenderly  mindful  he  is  of  our  wants, 
how  rich  in  bounty  to  our  desires,  when,  as  a  Father 
rejoicing  among  his  children,  he  crowns  us  with  bless- 
ing. What  wisdom,  what  power,  what  riches  are 
exerted  for  our  good !  Surrounded  by  God,  upheld  by 
his  hand,  watched  by  his  eye,  cherished  by  his  love, 
defended  by  his  sovereignty,  how  precious  should  be 
all  the  proof  of  his  kindness,  —  kindnCvSS  purchased  for 
us  by  the  infinite  price  of  Christ's  atonement,  obtained 
for  us  by  Christ's  intercession,  and  ordered  for  us  by 
Christ's  authority  as  head  over  all  things. 

How  trustful  should  we  be  for  all  time  to  come !    He, 


Lect.  XII.]  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  257 

who  has  been  at  such  cost  to  redeem  us  to  himself  - 
who  has  taken  us  out  of  our  guilt  and  misery  and  rebel- 
ion,  to  make  us  children,  -  who  has  predestined  all 
things  for  our  eternal  happiness,  -  will  never  desert  us, 
never  leave  us  to  our  own  folly,  never  suffer  any  to  pluck 
us  out  of  his  hand !  His  word  is  passed,  and  he  will 
keep  his  covenant  as  long  as  his  power  shall  last. 

HI.  But  how  sad  is  their  condition,  who,  because 
they  believe  not  in  Christ,  have  no  part  in  the  love  of 

r  f  .    "^'  "^^'^  *^^^^^'^^  ^^^  *^^  good  of  those 

who  bve  God,  all  things  must  work  against  those  who 
love  him  not.  Now  they  are  under  his  displeasure ;  but 
what  will  be  their  terrible  fate,  when  God,  lonc-suffer- 
mg  no  longer,  arms  his  omnipotence  for  theii"  defeat 
and  eternity  shall  cumulate  upon  them  the  fierceness 
of  his  wrath  !  O  my  people,  let  us  escape  while  we 
may  and  cling  to  the  cross  of  him  who  sitteth  upon 


VOL.  I. 


IT 


I  ! 


.^.-^^1^..  iii<smmmmmmmm 


LECTURE  Xril. 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


•  'i 


--S8B 


mm 


IMP 


ELEVENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 

^lT\f^^^\  ^^^  *'  '^'  ^"^  '^  ^^  called  Jesvs,  that  is,  a  Saviour  f 
Ans.    Because  he  saveth  us,  and  delivereth  us  from  our  sns;  and  like- 
w^e^because  we  ought  not  to  seek,  neither  can  find  salvalionin  an^^ 

Quest.  XXX.    Do  such  then  believe  in  Jesus,  the  only  Saviour,  who  seek 

ANS.     Ihey  do  not;  for,  though  they  boast  of  him  in  words,  vet  in  deeds 

hey  deny  Jesus,  the  only  deliverer  and  Saviour;  for  one  of  these  two 

hmgs  must  be  true:  that  either  Jesus  is  not  a'complete  Sav'ur  or 

that  they,  who  by  a  true  faith  receive  Ihis  Saviour  must  find  all  things 

m  him  necessary  to  salvation.  ^ 

JJAVIJSTG    exhibited    the    doctrine    of  "  God   the 
Father,"  as  professed  by  us  in  the  first  article  of 
the  creed,   we   are  now   to   enter  upon  the   doctrine 
we  hold  concerning  God  the  Son,  as  set  forth  in  the 
next  SIX  articles,  which  it  will  be  our  duty  to  discuss  in 
the  order  of  their  occurrence.     Following  this  arrange- 
ment, our  first  inquiry  is  respecting  the  meaning  of  the 
several  names,  or  rather  appellations  by  which  he  is 
revealed  to  our  faith,  as  our  Mediator  with  God : 
Jesus  Christ,  Ms  only  begotten  Son,  our  Lord, ' 
The  first  only  of  these  is  properly  a  name,  designat- 
mg  personal  individuality,   though    significant  of  the 
great    work   which   he   undertook  for   our   salvation: 
"  Thou  Shalt,"  said  the  annunciating  angel  to  Joseph 
and  Mary  the  blessed  Virgin,  speaking  of  the  child  she 
should  bear  from  her  conception  by  the  Holv  Ghost, 


I 

ill 


262 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


[Lect.  XIII. 


••  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from 
their  sins." 

The  other  appellations  are  descriptive  epithets: 
"  Christ,"  of  his  anointment,  or  divine  consecration 
to  his  office  ;  "  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,"  of  his 
essentially  divine  nature ;  and  "  Lord,"  of  his  media- 
torial authority  over  his  Church,  and  over  all  things 
for  his  Church. 

Our  lesson,  to-day,  is  on  the  name  Jesus. 
Jesus !     How  does  the  very  word  overflow  with  ex- 
ceeding sweetness,  and  light,  and  joy,  and  love,  and 
ife  I     Filling  the  air  with  odors,  like  precious  ointment 
poured  forth,   irradiating   the   mind  with  a  glory  of 
truth  in  which  no  fear  can  live,  soothing  the  wounds  of 
tlie  heart  with  a  balm  that  turns  its  sharpest  anguish 
liito  delicious  peace  ;  shedding  through  the  soul  a  cor- 
dial of  immortal  strength  !     Jesus  !  the  answer  to  all 
our  doubts,  the  spring  of  all  bur  courage,  the  earnest 
of  all  our  hopes,  the  charm  omnipotent  against  all  our 
foes,  the  remedy  for  all  our  sicknesses,  the  supply  of 
all  our  wants,  the  fulness  of  all  our  desires !      Jesus, 
melody  t^iimr   ears,  altogether   lovely  to  our  sight, 
manna  to  our  taste,  living  water  to  our  thirst !     Jesus, 
our  shadow  from  the  heat,  our  refuge  from  the  storm, 
our  cloud  by  night,  our  morning  star,  our  sun  of  right- 
eousness !      Jesus,   at   the   mention   of   whose    name 
"  every  knee  shall  bow  and  every  tongue  confess  !  " 
Jesus  our  power,  Jesus  our  righteousness,  Jesus  our 
sanctification,  Jesus  our  redemption  !     Jesus  our  Elder 
Brother,  Jesus   our  Jehovah,  Jesus   our  Immanuel  ! 
Thy  name  is  the  most  transporting  theme  of  the  Church, 
as  they  sing  going  up  from  the  valley  of  tears  to  their 
home  on  the  mount  of  God  —  th v  name  shall  ever  be 

to 


Lect.  XIII.] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


263 


the  richest  chord  in  the  harmony  of  heaven,  where  the 
angels  and  the  redeemed  unite  their  exulting,  adoring 
songs  around  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  Jesus, 
thou  only  canst  interpret  thy  own  name,  and  thou  hast 
done  it  by  thy  work  on  earth,  and  thy  glory  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father  ;  Jesus,  Saviour  ! 

In  pursuing  our  meditations  on  this  most  delightful 
subject,  and  for  our  edification  through  a  better  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth  it  contains,  let  us  consider  :  — 

First  :   The  name  Jesu8> 

Secondly  :  The  reason  of  it. 

Thirdly  :  The  practical  inferences. 

First  :   The  name  Jesus. 

I.  It  is  a  name.  Every  person  has  a  name  which 
distinguishes,  or  is  intended  to  distinguish  him  from 
every  other  person,  and  stands  as  the  sign  or  verbal 
representative  of  his  individual  self.  Thus  Jesus  was 
the  personal,  and,  eminently,  the  peculiar  name  of  the 
Son  of  God  incarnate,  the  name  to  which  all  his  other 
appellations  are  added  and  attributive ;  not  assumed  by 
him  after  he  had  reached  manhood,  but  given  to  him 
when  a  babe  ;  not  imposed  on  him  accidentally  or  by 
the  will  of  man,  but  appointed  for  him  by  God,  through 
a  special  revelation  which  an  angel  communicated,  be- 
fore he  was  born,  to  those  who  were  to  have  the  leo-al 
charge  of  his  tender  years ;  and  so  appointed,  as  we 
are  divinely  taught,  because  in  its  etymology  significant 
of  the  gracious  design  of  God  which  he  should  accom- 
plish. 

II.  It  becomes  us,  therefore,  as  devout  and  deeply 
interested  students  of  unerring  Scripture,  to  search  out 
the  remarkable  significance  of  this  name  Jesus. 

The  revelation  by  the  angel  to  Joseph,  and,  because 


M4 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


[Lect.  XIII. 


recorded,  to  us,  was :  "  Fear  not  to  take  unto  thee 
Mary  thy  wife,  for  that  which  is  conceived  in  her,  is  of 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  she  shall  bring  forth  a  son  ;  and 
thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  peo- 
ple from  their  sins."  Here  the  appropriateness  of  the 
name  is  asserted  from  its  radical  meaning. 

1.  The  word  Jesus,  though  exactlv  transferred  to 
our  language  from  the  Greek  original  of  the  text, 
where  it  is  written  in  Greek  letters,  is  not  Greek  either 
in  form  or  derivation.  Some  have  erroneously  sup- 
posed that  it  is  a  verbal  noun  from  a  Greek  verb  signi- 
fying l!i>  heal  or  to  cure  ;  and,  certainly,  he,  in  whom 
we  trust,  had  been  prophetically  called,  "  the  Lord  that 
healeth,"  "  who  healeth  all  our  diseases,"  and  his  blood 
described  as  a  balm  of  sovereign  efficacy  ;  and  we  are 
warranted  in  honoring  as  the  Great  Physician  ;  still 
the  rule  of  the  Greek  language  will  not  allow  us  to 
admit  that  such  is  the  etymology  of  Jesus. 

2.  It  is  the  Hebrew  name  Joshua,  imitated,  as  nearly 
as  difference  of  language  would  permit,  in  Greek. 

Joshua,  from  its  remarkable  meaning  and  historical 
associations,  was  a  rather  common  name  among  the 
Jews,  who,  like  other  orientals,  were  fond  of  such  pre- 
tentious ostentation  ;  though  first  given  by  Moses 
under  divine  inspiration  to  the  son  of  Nun,  his  pious, 
heroic  successor  in  command  of  Israel ;  and  wherever 
there  was  occasion  to  record  it  in  Greek,  it  is  written 
Jesus,  as  when  Stephen  the  Martyr,  speaking  of  the 
tabernacle,  says :  "  which  our  fathers  that  came  after 
(Moses)  brought  in  with  Jesus  into  the  possession  of 
the  Gentiles,  whom  God  drave  out  before  the  face  of 
our  fathers ; "  and  as  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,   speaking  of  that  Canaan  as  only  a  type, 


Lect.  XIIL] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


265 


says  :  "  If  Jesus  had  given  them  rest,  then  would  not 
he  (the  Psalmist  from  whom  he  had  been  quoting)  not 
afterwards  have  spoken  of  another  day."  It  is,  there- 
fore, to  the  original  bestowal  of  the  name  on  the  vic- 
torious leader  of  the  Tribes  that  we  must  turn  for  its 
proper  etymology.  This  we  find  in  Numbers  xiii.  16 : 
"  Moses  called  Oshea,  the  son  of  Nun,  Jehoshua,"  or, 
as  it  is  afterwards  written  in  our  Enslish  Vulo-ate, 
Joshua.  Now,  as  in  Hebrew  the  consonants  only  are 
the  radical  letters  of  a  word,  this  w^as  easily  turned  to  * 
Jeshua,  which  by  substituting  the  Greek  termination  8 
for  the  Hebrew  a,  and  by  throwing  out  the  aspirate  ^, 
which  the  Greeks  never  used  except  in  the  beginning 
of  a  word,  we  have  :  Jesus. 

It  is  at  once  seen  that  this  change  from  Oshea  to 
Joshua,  was  significant  of  some  great  prophetic  truth. 
Oshea  and  Jehoshua  are  derivatives  from  the  same 
verb ;  but  Oshea  is  from  the  present,  probably  the  im- 
perative, and  signifies  simply  Save^  or  Saviour :  the 
prefix  of  the  letter  we  represent  by  J,  shows  Jehoshua 
to  be  from  the  future,  and  it  signifies :  He  shall  save. 
This  is  not,  however,  all.  The  letter  prefixed  is  the 
initial  letter  of  the  peculiar  name  of  God,  Jehovah,  or 
Jah ;  and,  according  to  the  constant  symbolical  habit 
of  revealed  language,  conveys  a  certain  divine  empha- 
sis and  dignified  sense ;  so  that  Jehoshua  may  be  inter- 
preted The  Lord  (Jah)  shall  save,  or  more  freely  :  The 
Lord  shall  save  through  or  in  or  hy  Oshea, 

Let  us  compare  with  this  what  the  Lord  says  in 
Exodus  xxiii.  20  -  23  :  "  Behold,  I  send  an  Angel 
before  thee,  to  keep  thee  in  the  way,  and  to  bring  thee 
into  the  place  which  I  have  prepared.  Beware  of  him, 
and  obey  his  voice ;  provoke  him  not,  for  he  will  not 


266 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


[LKCT.Xin. 


mrdoii  your  transgressions ;  for  my  name  is  in  him. 
But  if  thou  shalt  indeed  obey  his  voice,  and  do  all  that 
i  speak  ;  then  I  will  be  an  enemy  unto  thine  enemies, 
and  an  adversary  unto  thine  adversaries.     For  mnie 
Ancrel  shall  go  before  thee,  and  bring  thee  in  unto  the 
Am'orites,  and  the  Hittites,  and  the  Perizzites,  and  the 
Canaanites,  the  Hivites,  and  the  Jebusites ;  and  I  will 
cut  them  Qff/'     Now,  doubtless,  the  angel  here  spoken 
of  is  the  great  Angel  of  the  covenant,  or  of  the  pres- 
•ence,  who  dwelling  in  the  Shekinah,  the  pillar  of  cloud 
and  fire,  led  the  tribes  to  their  conquest  of  the  prom- 
ised land  ;  and  by  the  name  of  God  in  him  we  are  to 
understand  the  authority  or  power  which  the  divine  name 
represents.     But  it  is  as  certain  that  Joshua  was  the  hu- 
man, visible  instrument  through  whose  personal  agency 
the  work  of  the  divine  Angel  was  done.      Hence  the 
sacred  propriety  of  changing  his  name  to  one  which 
4iould  have  the  Divine  name  in  it :  Osliea  into  Jehoshua. 
Yet  further :  The  Angel  of  the  covenant,  we  have 
strong  reason  to  believe,  was  none  other  than  the  Sec- 
ond  Person  of   the  ever-adorable   Godhead,  and   the 
Saviour  of  the  typical  Israel ;  he  who  in  the  fulness  of 
time  would  come,  —  blessed  be  his  name  !  has  come  —  to 
be  in  human  form  the  Saviour  of  the  true  Israel,  the 
church.     Hence  Joshua  was  a  double  type,  of  the  then 
present,   though   unseen.  Saviour,   the   Angel   of  the 
covenant,  and  of  the  Saviour,  who,  according  to  cove- 
nant and  promise,  was  to  bring  his  people  into  their 
heavenly  rest.      The  divine  name  was  in  the  name  of 
the  human  Saviour  by  whom  God  gave  the  triumph  to 
Israel  of  old,  as  a  typical  prophecy  that  Jehovah,  the 
Ano-el  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  would  be  incarnate 
m  the  Saviour  of  his  people.      This  is  established  by 


lect.  xrii.] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


267 


the  testimony  of  the  Evangelist  Matthew,  following  his 
record  of  the  annunciation  to  Joseph  :  "  Now  all  this 
was  done  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  of 
the  Lord  by  the  prophet,  saying :  Behold  a  virgin  shall 
be  with  child  and  shall  bring  forth  a  son,  and  they  shall 
call  his  name  Emmanuel,  which  being  interpreted  is, 
God  with  us."  Jhe  prophecy  was  fulfilled  not  only  in 
the  birth  of  Christ  as  the  son  of  a  virgin,  but  also  in 
the  import  of  his  name,  the  interpretation  of  which  cor- 
responds with  that  which  we  have  given  of  the  word 
Jesus.  Such,  we  believe,  is  the  majestic  import  of 
the  most  precious  name  Jesus  —  Jehovah- Jesus  ;  for 
in  him  who  received  it  at  his  circumcision,  and  now 
bears  it  on  his  throne  of  highest  glory,  our  Elder 
Brother,  the  born  of  woman,  we  recognize,  adore,  and 
trust  the  Emmanuel,  God  with  us. 

We  are  now,  in  answer  to  the  29th  Question  of  the 
Catechism:  ''Why  is  the  Son  of  God  called  Jesus, 
that  is.  Saviour  ?  "  to  declare. 

Secondly  :  7^e  reason  on  account  of  which  the  name 
of  Jesus  belongs  hy  divine  appointment  to  the  Son  of  God 
incarnate. 

This  is  stated  by  the  Catechism  :  — 

"  Because  he  saveth  us  and  delivereth  us  from  our 
sins;  and,  likewise,  because  we  ought  not  to  seek 
neither  can  find  salvation  in  any  other." 

If  the  first  part  of  the  answer  be  proved,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  second  follows  necessarily ;  and,  therefore, 
will  come  appropriately  under  our  third  head.  For  the 
present,  we  occupy  ourselves  with  the  first  clause: 
"  Because  he  saveth  us  and  delivereth  us  from  all  our 
"  the  thought  in  which  is  taken  from  the  annun- 


sms 


ciation  of  the  angel  to  Joseph,  Matthew  i.  21 :    "  Tiiou 


I 


268 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


[Lect.  XIIL 


shalt  call  Ms  name  Jesus  ;  for  he  shall  save  his  people 
from  their  sins."  This  brings  before  us  tliree  questions : 
I.  From  what  doth  Jesus  save?  II.  How  doth  he 
save  ?  III.  Whom  doth  he  save  ?  Or,  the  Nature, 
the  Manner,  and  the  Objects  of  his  salvation. 

I.  The  nature  of  the  salvation  by  Jesus.     "  He  shall 
save  his  people /row  their  «2/i«."  , 

All  men  are  sinners ;  the  people  of  Christ  are  sin- 
ners, for  he  "  came  into  the  world  to  save  "  —  not  the 
righteous,  but   "sinners."       Now,   because    sin   is   a 
violation  of  the  law  of  God,  who  denounces  the  most 
terrible  consequences  upon  all  who  shall  be  guilty  of  so 
offending  his  holy  majesty,  all  sinnei-s  are  in  a  state  of 
ruin,  or,  as  the  Scripture  strongly  expresses  it,  "  lost," 
except  they  be  saved  from  their  sins  ;  which,  the  Gospel 
everywhere  asserts,  can  be  accomplished  only  by  the 
mediatorial  work  of  Jesus  Christ.     Thus,  "  Cursed  is 
every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are 
written  in  the  book  of  the  law,  to  do  them."     "  Christ 
hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made 
a  curse  for  us."    Again :  "  By  one  man  sin  entered  into 
the  world,  and  death  by  sin  ;  and  so  death  passed  upon  all 
men  for  that  all  have  sinned."     "  Where  sin  abounded, 
grace  did  much  more  abound  ;  that  as  sin  hath  reigned 
onto  death,  even  so  might  grace  reign  unto  eternal  life, 
by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."      From  these,  and  many 
other  synonymous  passages,  we  see,  that  the  salvation 
which  sinners  need,  and  which  Christ  accomplishes  for 
his  people,  is  twofold :    From  the  wrath  of  God,  and 
from  our  sins  themselves ;  or  from  the  penalty  of  sin, 
and  the  power  of  sin. 

1.  From  the  wrath  of  God,  the  penalty  of  sin.     Sin 
is  the  very  opposite  of  the  divine  holiness,  and  a  direct 


Lect.  Xni.] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


269 


Violation  of  that  moral  order,  which,  after  the  pattern 
of  his  own  blessed  character,  he  has  ordained  for  the 
happiness  of  his  human  creatures,  in  conformity  with 
the  general  laws  of  his  moral  universe.  It  must, 
therefore,  be  that  sin  is  ever  to  God  an  object  of  his 
infinite  disgust  and  hate  ;  but,  as  he  is  the  moral  Gov- 
ernor of  the  world,  it  becomes  necessary  to  his  truth, 
his  justice,  and  even  to  his  sovereignty,  that  he  should 
punish  sin  by  whomsoever  and  howsoever  committed. 
The  laws  which  he  has  established  are  the  rules  of  his 
administration  as  well  as  of  our  conduct,  and  extend  in 
their  exceeding  breadth  over  every  possible  particular 
of  our  moral  action.  His  sovereignty  is  so  complete 
that  at  no  moment  we  can  in  thought,  word,  or  deed, 
put  ourselves  beyond  our  responsibility.  But  the  pen- 
alty he  denounces  is  equally  explicit :  "  The  soul  that 
sinneth,  it  shall  die."  Every  soul  that  sins,  by  the 
very  fact  of  his  sin,  comes  under  the  divine  displeasure 
not  only,  but  under  the  penalty  of  the  divine  law,  and 
a  penalty  which  is  extreme  ;  for  it  is  death,  which  from 
its  very  nature  is  perpetual,  there  being  no  escape  out 
of  death  or  any  return  from  it.  A  sentence  to  impris- 
onment or  any  other  form  of  punishment  for  a  term  of 
years,  short  of  the  natural  life,  may  be  served  out  and 
the  convict  recover  his  freedom  ;  even  should  it  be  for 
the  whole  of  his  natural  life,  he  mav  have  the  sentence 
reversed  after  he  has  suffered  some  time ;  but  an  inflic- 
tion of  death  as  a  penalty  is  final,  and  once  that  it  has 
been  executed,  nothing  but  the  power  of  God  in  giving 
a  new  life  can  restore  from  it.  The  ruin  of  the  sinner 
is,  therefore,  utter,  perpetual,  irremediable,  except  by 
the  intervention  of  some  divine  method  which  shall 
justify  God  who  ordained  and  has  inflicted  the  penalty, 


11 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


[Lect.  XIII. 


in  pardormig  tlie  sinner,  and  in  recovering  Inm  from 
under  its  power  by  quickening  him  with  a  new  hfe. 

Farther  :    The  penalty  of  death,  though  perpetual 
like  death,  is  not  annihilation  or  insensibility.     The 
soul,  though  it  dies,  ceases  not  to  be,  nor  loses  Us  con- 
sciousness or  sensitiveness.     It  is  a  moral  death.     As 
the  favor  of  God  is  life,  and  he,  who  has  that  favor  is 
conscious  of  the  divine  love,  enjoying  with  keen  dehglit 
the  holy  pleasures  which  flow  from  that  love  ;  so  death 
is  the  divine  wrath  on  the  soul,  and  he,  who  is  under 
its  power,  is  conscious  of  the  terrible  doom,  suifenng 
with  keenest  anguish  the  infamous  tortures  which  pour 
forth  from  that  wrath.     "We  can  measure  the  ruin  ot 
«e  sinner  only  by  the  eternity,  the  inexorableness,  the 
fierceness  of  "the  divine  anger  against  sin.      "  Even 
according  to  thy  fear,  so  is  thy  wrath."     "  Tell  me, 
said  one  whom  faith,  not  genius,  made  eloquent,  "  tell 
me  what  the  wrath  of  God  is,  and  I  can  tell  you  the 
sweetness  of  the  name  he  bears  who  delivers  me  from 
it ;  Jesus,  my  Saviour." 

2.  From  our  sins  themselves,  or  their  power  over  us. 
It  is  clear  that  our  salvation  must  be  more  radical  than 
from  the  penalty.     The  penalty  is  consequent  upon  the 
evil  in  us  that  is  behind  it.     God  is  angry  with  us  be- 
cause of  our  sins,  so  that  our  sins  are  the  procuring 
cause  of  our  death  —  they  would  bring  death  on  our 
souls,  even  if  there  were  (what  it  is  impossible  to  sup- 
pose) no  judicial  infliction  of  death  as  a  legal  penalty. 
The  whole  nature  of  things,  the  very  character  of  the 
ever-blessed  God  must  be  changed,  before  a  soul  can 
sin  and  not  die.     The  first  act  of  sin  puts  us  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  law  of  life.    It  is  like  a  taint  of  leprosy,  a 
fetal,  infectious  plague  which  mortifies  all  our  moral 


M 


Lkct.  XIII.] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


2T1 


spiritual  being,  corrupting  our  powers,  depraving  our 
perceptions,  and,  not  only  incapacitating  us  to  recover 
ourselves,  but  tending  surely,  constantly,  rapidly  to 
greater  disease,  loathsome  decay,  deformity,  and  an- 
guish. Its  power  over  us  is  not  the  less,  but  greater, 
because  a  marked  symptom  of  it  is  an  insane  love  of 
the  mortal  cause,  a  wilful  determination  to  persevere  in 
courting  the  contagion.  Our  death  is  not  less  certain, 
because  our  moral  practice  is  a  continued  suicide. 

Nay,  even  were  it  possible  that,  our  moral  nature 
continuing  as  it  is,  God  should  remit  the  penalty  of  our 
past  transgressions,  the  suspension  of  his  wrath  would 
be  but  for  a  moment ;  because,  instantlv  sinninor  attain, 
we  should  incur  fresh  guilt ;  and,  again,  yet  more 
guilt ;  so  that  the  pardon  would  need  to  be  repeated 
as  often  as  sin  would  be  committed ;  a  course  utterly 
irreconcilable  with  the  faintest  sense  of  justice. 
What  mockery  would  it  be,  if  human  laws  were  so 
neutralized,  if  immediately  on  sentence  being  passed 
upon  him  for  one  crime,  a  pardon  would  set  the 
criminal  free  to  commit  new  offences,  the  penalty  of 
each  successively  remitted  as  often  as  he  was  sentenced  ? 
What  authority  would  there  be  in  such  a  government  ? 
What  security  would  there  be  for  the  subjects  it  claimed 
to  protect  ?  What  hope  even  for  the  reform  of  the 
transgressor,  thus  encouraged  by  impunity  to  laugh  at 
the  cobweb  restraint,  and  to  harden  himself  by  habitual 
crime?  Can  such  weak,  false  lenity  be  tolerated  in 
the  government  of  God  ? 

Salvation  must,  therefore,  be  radical  as  the  cause  of 
the  ruin.  The  sinfulness  of  the  sinner  which  is  the 
occasion  of  the  divine  wrath,  the  very  cause  of  hell, 
nay,  in  its  own  workings,  itself  hell,  must  be  eradicated. 


272 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


[Lect.  XIII. 


Lkct.  Xlir.] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


A  new  irii*ttie  of  life  must  be  infused,  to  meet  in  our 
corrupted  system  the  fatal  virus,  to  counteract  its 
corruption,  to  overcome  and  to  drive  it  out  by  a  return- 
ing vigor  and  health,  from  a  divine  power.  In  a  word 
and  without  a  figure,  we  need  to  be  set  free  from  sin, 
to  be  delivered  from  the  power  it  has  over  us,  to  have 
the  bent  of  our  inclinations  changed  upward  toward 
God  and  holiness,  to  receive  strength  for  the  conquest 
of  evil  habits  and  the  resistance  of  temptations ;  nay, 
in  the  strong  language  of  Scripture,  to  be  "  born  again," 
that  we  may  come  out  into  the  world  as  thoroughly 
changed  in  our  principles,  purposes,  desires,  and  motives, 
as  if  we  had  been  created  anew  with  a  nature  morally 
the  opposite  of  that  which  we  have  had  and  manifested 
from  our  first  birth. 

Ah  !  my  brethren,  now  we  see  the  reason  of  the  di- 
vine name  being  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Who  but  God 
can  deliver  from  the  wrath  of  God  ?  Who  but  he  who 
created  man  at  first  in  the  image  of  God,  can  create 
us  anew  and  re-stamp  the  divine  likeness  on  our  souls  ! 

II.  The  method  of  salvation. 

How  doth  Jesus  save  his  people  from  their  sins? 
Like  the  nature  of  salvation,  the  method  of  it  must  be 
twofold  :  By  his  atoning  merits,  and  by  his  sanctifying 
grace  ;  the  first  of  which  delivers  his  people  from  the 
wrath  of  God,  the  penalty  of  sin ;  the  second,  from  the 
power  of  their  sins  over  them. 

1.  His  atoning  merits. 

The  word  lost,  or  ruined,  supposes  not  only  present 
calamity,  but  a  loss  of  former  prosperity,  the  ruin  of  a 
former  happiness.  Hence,  also,  we  speak  of  man  as 
fallen,  and  of  the  act,  which  occasioned  our  present 
misery,  as  the  fall.     The  Scripture  teaches  us  that  our 


273 


race,  as  represented  by  our  first  parent,  was  created 
with  a   likeness   to   God   and    originally  enjoyed    the 
divine  favor,  which   the  Scripture,  as  has  been  stated, 
denominates  life.     The  condition  on  which   this  favor 
was  to  be  continued  could  be  no  other  than  his  con- 
formity to  his  divine  pattern  by  obedience  to  the  divine 
commandments  ;  the  penalty  of  his  disobedience  was, 
necessarily,  death,  the  entire  withdrawal  of  divine  like- 
ness, the  infliction   of  divine   wrath,   and    consequent 
misery.     In   order,  therefore,  to  our  full   restoration, 
there  must  be  a  reconcilement  to  God.     This  is  what 
is  meant,   properly,   by  atonement.      God  and  sinful 
man  have  been  divided  ;  it  is  necessary  for  our  salva- 
tion that   we  be  at-one  again   with  God.     Atonement 
is  often  used  to  signify  the  basis  of  the  reconciliation, 
as  the  procuring  cause  of  the  effect ;  but  radically,  it 
is  the  reconciliation,  the  atonement  itself. 

Now  to  this  reconciliation,  the  full  restoration  from 
the  misery  into  which   we  are  fallen  because  of  the 
divine  wrath,  it  is  necessary  that  the  law  which  we 
have  broken  should  be  so  satisfied  as  to  justify  our  holy, 
divine  Sovereign  in  removing  from  our  souls  the  curse 
of  his  wrath  and  taking  us  again  into  his  approving 
favor.     This  justification  of  his  mercy  it  pleased  God, 
out  of  the  riches  of  the  glory  of  his  grace,  to  provide 
in  the  vicarious  merits  of  Christ,  who  took  our  place 
under  the  law,  that  all  who  believe  in  him  might  be 
admitted  to  his  place  in  the  divine  regard  ;  and,  hence, 
we  call  them  his  atoning  merits.      The  infinite  pro- 
priety,  wisdom,  and  mercy  of  the  sinner's  salvation 
through  the  righteousness  of  a  sufficient  substitute,  the 
necessity  of  both  a  divine  and  human  nature  for  the 
personal   constitution   of  such   a   substitute,   and   the 


VOL.    I. 


18 


tHE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


[Lect.  XIIL 


divine  appointment  of  Jesus,  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
God,  and  tlie  miraculously  conceived  Son  of  the  blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  the  Emmanuel,  to  be  that  substitute, — 
were  all  demonstrated  at  length  in  our  lectures  on  the 
lessons  for  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Lord's  Days.  It  is  now 
requisite  only  that  we  refresh  our  memories  and  our 
hearts  with  a  mention  of  what  Christ,  as  our  atoning 
substitute,  did  on  behalf  of  his  people.  His  work  was 
twofold :    Expiation  of  our  sins,  and  obedience  to  the 

divine  law. 

For  the  law  of  God,  unlike  most  human  laws,  not 
only  threatened  the  transgressor  of  it  with  punishment, 
but  also  proposed  reward  for  our  obedience.      We  are, 
therefore,  because  of  our  sin,  not  only  exposed  to  the 
wrath  of  God,  but  without  any  possible  claims  to  his 
favor.      Even  were  the  penalty  remitted,  no  blessing 
could  be  justly  bestowed  upon  us,  because  we  are  not 
entitled  to  the  reward  of  obedience.      Before  God  can, 
consistently  with  his  own  word,  receive  us  back  to  his 
love,  not  only  must  the  guilt  of  our  sins  (by  which  we 
mean  our  liability  to  punishment)  be  taken  from  us, 
but  there  must  also  be  provided  a  perfect  obedience,  the 
reward  of  which  may  be  bestowed  upon  us.      Thus 
Jesus  took  upon  him  the  guilt  of  his  peoi)le's  sins,  and 
gatisfied  the  penalty  which  they  had  incurred,  by  his 
death  on  the  cross  ;  but  he  also,  by  his  previous  active 
obedience,  purchased,  or  earned,  or  became  entitled  to 
the  reward  of  divine  favor,  which,  according  to  his 
covenant  with  the  Father,  is  transferred  to  those  who 
accept   his  substitution  for  them  by  believing  on   his 
name.     This  is  what  theologians  technically  call  impu- 
tation  —  the  imputation  of  our  sins  to  Christ,  and  the 
imputation  of  his  righteous  obedience  to  us;  by  which 


LwjT.  XUI.] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


AIM 

278 


we   are   to  understand,  not  that  our  sins  become  hii 
sins,  for  that  is  impossible  as   personal  acts   are   not 
transferable,  or  that  his  righteousness  becomes  our  per- 
sonal obedience,  which  is  alike  impossible,  but  that  the 
legal  consequence  of  our  sins,  which  is  death,  is  inflicted 
on  him,  and  the  legal  consequences  of  his  obedience, 
which  is  life,  is  conferred  on  us.     Even  as  the  apostle 
says  :  "  All  things  are  of  God,  who  hath  reconciled  us 
to  himself  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  hath  given  to  us  the 
ministry  of   reconciliation  :    to  wit,  that  God  was  in 
Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself,  not  imput- 
ing their  trespasses  unto  them;  and  hath  committed 
unto  us  the  word  of  reconciliation.     Now,  then,  we  are 
ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you 
by  us ;  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled 
to  God.     For  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who 
knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness 
of  God  in  him."     Jesus  is  our  Saviour  in  both  ways : 
his  expiatory  death,  and  his  active  obedience,  constitut- 
ing the  ground  on  which  the  sinner  that  believes  in 
him  is  reconciled  to  God  ;  and  not  only  relieved  from 
the  i^nalty  of  death,  but  also  restored  to  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  divine  favor.      His  death  saves  us  from  hell ; 
his   obedience  entitles  us  to  heaven  ;  but  in  both  the 
merit  is  all  his,  and  to  him  be  the  glory  I 

2,  His  sanctifying  grace,  by  which  he  delivers  us 
from  the  power  of  our  sins.  We  have  seen  under  our 
former  head,  what,  alas !  we  know  by  sad  experience, 
that  sin  corrupts  our  whole  nature,  giving  us  such  an 
inclination  to  sin  more  and  more  that  even  pardon  itself 
cannot  deliver  us  from  the  misery  which  is  its  inevita- 
ble consequence.  The  Scripture  represents  this  deprav- 
ity as  a  bondage  to  sin.     Such  is  its  power  over  us  that 


(Pj     » 


TW  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


[Lkct.  XIII 


fliough  its  chains  are  willingly  worn,  we  have  not  moral 
strength  to  break  them ;  and  the  bondage  is  aggravated 
by  bringing  us  under  the  power  of  the  devil,  the  great 
tempter,  and  of  his  two  principal  instruments  of  temp- 
tation, —  the  world  and  the  flesh.      Thus,  our  sins  are 
denominated  our  enemies,  w^ho  oppose  our  entrance  to 
heavenly  rest,  as  the  Canaanites  did  the  entrance  of 
Israel  to  the  promised  land  ;  and  from  them  our  Joshua 
must  deliver  us  by  a  victory  which  we  cannot  accom- 
plish of  ourselves.     So  the  father  of  the  Baptist  speaks 
of  Jesus  as  "  a  horn  (or  strength)  of  salvation  "  sent  to 
fulfil  the  promise  which  God  "  sware  unto  Abraham, 
that  he  would  grant  unto  us  that  we,  being  delivered 
out  of  the  hand  of  our  enemies,  might  serve  in  holi- 
ness and  righteousness  before  him  all  the  days  of  our 
life."      For,  if  we  be  free  from  the  power  of  our  sins, 
we  are  safe  from  all  enemies,  because  none  "  can  harm 
lis  if  we  be  followers  of  that  which   is  good."     This 
deliverance  from  sin  is  called,  theologically,  sanctifica- 
Hon,  is  begun  in  the  conversion  of  the  sinner,  and  car- 
ried on  until  he  is  made  perfect  in  glory.     It  is  gradual 
for  wise  reasons ;  and  among  them,  obviously,  because 
tlie  divine  process  is  conducted  through  the  operation 
of  the  sinner's  own  faculties.     The  immediate  agent  in 
this  sanctification  to  whose  power  the  several  steps  in 
the  process  is  attributed  by  the  Scriptures,  is  the  Holy 
Ghost.      He  it  is  that  begets  us  again  in  regeneration, 
dwells  as  a  new  life  in  our  hearts,  enlightens  our  under- 
standing, turns  our  affections  upward  to  God,  invigor- 
ates our  faltering  will  to  determine  good,  and  by  faith  in 
the  gospel  transforms  us  from  rebels  to  children  of  God. 
But,  as  we  shall  consider  at  large  this  sanctifying  work 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  when  we  come  to  the  lesson  for  the 


Lect.XIII.] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


277 


Twentieth  Lord's  Day,  we  shall  now  briefly  note  the 
sense  in  which  our  deliverance  from  the  power  of  sin  is 

ascribed  to  Jesus. 

a.  He  obtains  for  us  by  the  prayers  of  his  interces- 
sion,  based  on  the  merits  of  his  life  and  death,  the 
influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost.      When  he  had  accom- 
plished a  righteousness  of  infinite  value,  and  the  Father, 
well  ])leased   with  his   work,  said :  "  Ask,  and   I  will 
give  thee,"  the  Mediator  asked  that  the  various  graces 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  might  be  given  him  for  his  people. 
Accordingly,  we  find  that  immediately  on  the  Saviour's 
beginning  his  intercession  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  the 
Spirit  was  sent  down  on  the  multitudes  of  the  Pente- 
cost, and  has  never  ceased  to  dwell  with  his  true  church 
or  in  the  heart  of  every  true  believer.      So  says   the 
prophetic  Psalmist :    "  Thou  hast   ascended  on  high ; 
thou  hast  led  captivity  captive  ;  thou  hast  received  gifts 
for  men  ;    yea,  for  the  rebellious  also,  that  the  Lord 
God  mio-ht  dwell  among  them.      Blessed  be  the  Lord, 
who  daily  loadeth  us  with  benefits,  even  the  God   of 
our  salvation  ;  "  and  our  Lord  at  the  Last  Supper :  "  I 
will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever,  even 
the   Spirit  of  truth."      All  the   effects   of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  without  whose  grace  we  can  do  nothing,  —  faith, 
rei)entance,  love,  hope,  peace,  holy  desires,  and  all  good 
^^orks,  —  thus  come  from  Jesus,  because  of  his  merits. 
The  Holy  Ghost  is  emphatically  His  Spirit ;  the  Spirit 
of  the  Son  of  God,  our  Saviour.     We  have  nothing  of 
our  own  ;    all  that  is  good    in    us,  all    the    good   we 
ever    shall    or   can   have    in    us,   is  the  result  of   his 
work  and    the   answer  of   his  prayers.      "  It  pleased 
the  Father  that    in    him   should   all   fulness  dwell;". 


178 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


[Lect.  xin. 


"  and  of  his  fulness  have  all  we  received,  and  grace 
for  grace." 

h.  The  instrument  by  which  the  Holy  Spirit  accom- 
plishes the  work  of  sanctification  is  the  Word  of  God, 
which,  from  its  beginning  to  its  end,  testifies  of  Christ. 
The  legitimate  effect  of  the  Gospel  when  apphed  to  the 
soul  of  the  sinner  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  to  "  work  by 
love,"  to  "  purify  the  heart,  and  to  give  victory  over 
the  world."     The  love  of  Jesus  is  the  great  convert- 
ing, animating,  sanctifying  argument  and  motive  over 
all  that  is  evil  in  our  natures,  and  corrupting  in  the 
world  around  us.     It  is  the  divine  story  of  his  conde- 
scension which  brought  him  to  earth,  his  incarnation  as 
the  Babe  of  Bethlehem  that  he  might  be  very  man ; 
his  sorrowful  experience  of  human  griefs  and  human 
temptations,   that  he  might  assure  his  peo[)le  of  his 
sympathy ;  his  pure  example  of  human  virtue  that  he 
might  mark  the  wav  to  heaven  ;  his  bitter  death  on  the 
cross  that  he  might  pluck  the  sting  from  the  last  enemy ; 
his  resurrection  in  his  crucified  bodv,  and  his  ascension 
'  with  that  human  body  scarred  by  the  thorns,  and  nails, 
and  spear,  to  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  that  as  the 
second  Adam  he  might  be  head  over  all  things  to  his 
Church ;  and  the  blessed  conviction,  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  bears  home  on  the  penitent  soul  that  all  this  love, 
and  humiliation,  and  suff*ering,  and  righteousness  and 
death,  and  power  and  glory,  were  for  eveiy  one  who 
believes,  which  melts  the  obdurate,  encourages  the  fear- 
ful,  strengthens   the  weak,  and   keeps   the   unstable. 
No  one  can  have  a  heartfelt  conviction  of  a  love  so  great 
without  an  answering  affection  ;  and  the  sentiment  of 
every  Christian  soul  must  be  that  of  the  glowing  Apos- 
tle when  he  says :  "  The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us, 


Lkct.  xiii.] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


279 


because  we  thus  judge  that  if  one  died  for  all,  then 
were  all  dead,  and  that  he  died  for  all,  that  they  which 
live  should  not  henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but 
unto  him  which  died  for  them  and  rose  again."  The 
transformation  is  not  immediate,  but,  for  wise  reasons, 
gradual ;  yet  it  is  certain,  because  every  one  "  that  hath 
this  hope  in  him  purifieth  himself  even  as  he  is  pure ; " 
and  because  it  is  written,  "  He  shall  save  his  people 
from  their  sins."  The  sanctifying  process  which  is 
begun  in  the  regeneration  of  the  penitent  will  be  car- 
ried on  until  it  is  complete  in  his  celestial  life  ;  and  the 
sinner  whom  Jesus  saves,  is  hfted  from  the  depths  of 
corruption  to  the  height  of  holiness. 

III.  The  objects  of  the  salvation  by  Jesus. 
Here  we  need  but  little  argument.    The  text  decides 
at  once  who  they  are  whom  Jesus  saves,  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  salvation  confirms  the  text. 
1,  "  He  shall  save  his  peopled' 

It  is  our  high  privilege  to  believe  that  the  merits  of 
Christ,  substantially  considered,  are  infinite.  His  hu- 
man nature,  however  pure,  his  human  righteousness, 
however  perfect,  his  human  sufferings,  however  great, 
must,  like  all  that  pertains  to  the  human  creature,  be 
finite.  Had  our  Jesus  been  only  man,  he  could,  at 
best,  have  saved  only  himself,  because  he  could  not 
have  transcended  the  obligations  which  every  man  is 
personally  under  to  God.  But  our  Jesus  was  not,  is 
not,  a  mere  man.  Even  his  humanity  was  miraculously 
engendered  and  sanctified,  though  real.  He  was  Jesus, 
the  Emmanuel,  God  with  us ;  the  only  begotten  Son 
of  God  in  the  Son  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  He,  existing 
from  all  eternity  in  the  form  of  God,  took  to  his  divin- 
ity the  nature  of  humanity ;  and  it  is  from  this  union 


if 


280 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


[Lect.  xin. 


of  his  infinite  cKvimty  with  onf  inite  humanity,  that 
the  obedience  and  expiation  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus 
derive  their  value,  and,  therefore,  their  value  must  be 

infinite. 

It  is  not,  Iwwever,  of  their  absolute  value  that  we 
now  speak,  but  of  their  application.  Had  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  been  pleased  so  to  apply  the  sav- 
ing merits  of  Jesus,  they  would  be  sufficient  for  the 
salvation  of  all  men,  though  the  race  were  millions  of 
times  iidro  mmierous  than  it  is ;  but  we  know  that  all 
men  are  not  saved,  because  those  who  do  not  believe 
are  lost.  Tlie  salvation  of  Jesus  cannot,  therefore,  be 
api)lied  to  all  men.  Yet  it  is  equally  clear  that  Jesus 
cannot  have  failed  in  his  purpose  or  any  part  of  it ; 
isd,  tlierefore,  tliafc  his  people  whom  he  came  to  save 
are  not  all  men,  but  those  among  men  who  are  his  in 
some  peculiar  sense. 

It  is,  also,  undoubtedly  true  that  the  provisions  for 
iie  pardon  of  sin  in  the  merits  of  Christ  are  so  great, 
80  infinitely  great,  as  to  assure  every  sinner  who  will 
believe  on  his  name  of  acceptance  and  everlasting  life ; 
but  it  is  as  true  that  no  sinner  will  believe  except  under 
be  constraining  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.     If  then 
salvation  of  Christ's  people  de])ended  on  the  con- 
tingency of  their  unassisted  faith,  i)r  faith  not  wrought 
in  them  by  divine  grace,  none  would  be  saved,  and  the 
purpose  of  Jesus  has  failed.      The  language  of  the 
text,  however,  is  not  that  Jesus  will  offer  salvation  to 
all  men,  which,  blessed  be  his  name  I  he  does  ;  but  that 
he  shall,  positively,  certainly  "  shall  save  his  people;" 
and  as  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  which  faith  is 
wroufrht  in  the  soul,  has  been  purchased  by  his  merit 
and  is  given  by  him,  the  inference  is  irresistible  that 


Lect.  XIII.] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


281 


Jesus  not  only  offers  his  salvation  to  all  men,  but  actu- 
ally and  infallibly  secures  and  will  accomplish  the  sal- 
vation of  his  people.  Therefore,  the  Master  himself 
says  :  "  I  am  the  good  shepherd,  and  know  my  sheep, 
and  am  known  of  mine  ;  .  .  .  and  I  lay  down  my  life 
for  the  sheep."  Again  :  "  All  that  the  Father  giveth 
me  shall  come  to  me  ;  and  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will 
in  no  wise  cast  out."  This  is  no  discouragement  to 
the  seekino;  soul,  for  all  who  come  are  sure  of  being 
received  ;  but  it  is  the  highest  encouragement  for  us  to 
be  assured  that  our  salvation  is  in  no  sense  dependent 
on  our  own  strength,  because  all  who  are  willing  to  be 
his  people,  he  will  certainly  save. 

2.  The  nature  of  the  salvation  confirms  this :  "  He 
shall  save  his  people  from  their  «iws."  Not  only  did 
Christ  by  his  death  pay  the  penalty  due  to  them  on 
account  of  their  sins  for  all  who  believe  ;  and  by  his 
righteousness  purchase  for  them  an  eternal  happiness 
of  which  they  are  personally  utterly  undeserving  ;  but 
it  was  a  ])rincipal  object  of  his  purpose,  and  is  the 
main  benefit  which  they  receive  through  him,  that  his 
people  shall  be  saved  by  the  grace  of  his  Holy  Spirit 
from  their  sins  themselves,  that  is,  from  the  power  of 
their  sins,  their  sinfulness  of  nature,  tendency,  and 
habit.  Deliverance  from  punishment  is  the  least  part 
of  salvation  ;  for  salvation  is  complete  only  in  sanctifi- 
cation.  Sin  is  the  cause  of  hell,  and  our  sinfulness 
constitutes  our  danger  of  eternal  death  ;  until  our  sins 
are  taken  from  us,  or  we  are  assured  that  they  will  be, 
we  are  in  danger.  But  this  is  the  work  of  Christ's 
spirit  through  Christ's  gospel.  Hence,  only  those  are 
saved  who  are  Christ's  people,  his  "  peculiar  people, 
zealous  of  good  works  ; "  and  all  those  whom  he  came 


282 


THE  NAME  OF  ,rEgtrS. 


[Lkctt.  XIII 


certainly  to  save,  he  sanctifies  that  they  may  be  saved. 
It  is  all  of  grace.  "  We  love  him,"  says  the  Apostle, 
*'  because  he  first  loved  us."  It  is  grace  to  the  end,  as 
il  is  grace  from  the  beginning.  He  ordained  his  peo- 
ple, not  because  he  foresaw  that  they  would  be  holy  of 
themselves  ;  but  because  he  purposed  that  they  should 
be  holy  by  his  power.  "  For  whom  he  did  foreknow, 
he  also  did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image 
of  his  Son.  .  .  .  Moreover,  whom  he  did  predestinate, 
them  he  also  called  ;  and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also 
justified ;  and  whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glori- 
fied," which  is  the  height  of  sanctification.  It  is  all  of 
grace,  therefore,  all  of  Christ.  This  is  the  truth  of 
Gospel.  Our  Church  teaches  no  other.  They 
tWnk  that  they  can  save  themselves  will  reject  it 
as  a  hard  saying;  but  to  all  who  cling  to  Christ  as 
their  only  Saviour,  it  is  their  only  comfort  in  life  and 
death. 

Thirdly  :    The  Practical  Inferences. 

These  flow  so  easily  from  our  previous  exposition, 
and  are  so  clearly  stated  in  the  Questions  and  An- 
swers for  this  Lord's  Day,  that  they  need  only  to  be 
set  forth,  and  may  then  be  left  to  our  personal  medita- 
tions. 

1.  "  We  ought  not  to  seek,  neither  can  we  find  sal- 
vation in  any  other,"  but  Jesus. 

1.  We  ouMit  not  to  seek  salvation  in  anv  other. 

«.  For  it  is  God  whom  we  have  offended,  God  whose 
wrath  we  deserve,  God  who  alone  can  save  us.  It 
is  not  for  us  to  dictate  how  he  shall  save  us  ;  but 
since  he  has  revealed  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  as  the 
fnif  way  in  which  he  is  willing  to  save  us,  and  freely 
offers  salvation  to  all  who  believe,  we  should   grate- 


LsoT.  XIII.] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


283 


fully,  gladly  and  at   once  believe  on  Christ  for  our 
salvation. 

h.  He  has  also  declared  that  his  highest  glory,  the 
glory  of  his  justice  and  mercy,  of  his  wisdom  and  his 
power,  is  in  saving  all  who  come  to  him  through  Jesus; 
and,  therefore,  should  we  most  reverently  and  devoutly 
turn  from  our  sins,  by  which  we  so  greatly  dishonor 
him,  and  offer  ourselves  to  him  through  faith  in  Christ, 
that  he  may  have  his  glory  yet  more  manifest  in  our 
salvation. 

{?.  And,  when  we  contemplate  all  he  has  done  for  us 
in  the  humiliation,  obedience,  and  death  of  Christ,  with 
all  he  is  willing  to  do  for  us  on  earth  and  in  heaven  by 
the  power  and  grace  of  Christ,  how  should  his  love  con- 
strain us  to  become  the  followers  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, who  laid  down  his  life  for  us  that  he  might  lead 
us,  through  green  pastures  and  beside  still  waters,  to 
his  heavenly  fold. 

2.  But  we  cannot  find  salvation  in  any  other. 

a.  "  There  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved,"  but  the 
name  of  Jesus.  God  has  said  it ;  and  since  our  salva- 
tion can  come  only  from  God,  there  can  be  no  other. 
What  folly  for  us  to  think  of  finding  another  way  than 
that  which  the  wisdom  of  God  devised  ;  or  of  trustin tr 
another  way  than  that  which  his  power  has  executed ! 

h.  If  there  could  have  been  any  other  way,  God 
would  never  have  put  his  only  begotten  Son  to  such 
humiliation,  or  that  Son  incarnate  to  such  shame  and 
suffering.  That  no  method  less  would  have  sufficed,  is 
shown  in  the  sorrow  and  death  of  Jesus  ;  that  there 
could  be  none  greater  is  shown  in  the  divine  merit  of 
the  vicarious  sufferer. 


284 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


[Lkct.  XIU. 


c.  So  far  from  there  being  any  other  way,  God  in 
many  Scriptures  denounces  a  fearful  aggravation  of 
punishment  upon  all  those  who  reject  Christ.   "  He  that 
believeth  not  is  condemned  already,  because  he  hath 
not  believed  on  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
God."      "He  that  despised  Moses'  law  died  without 
mercy  under  two  or  three  witnesses.      Of  how  much 
sorer   punishment,  suppose   ye,  shall   he   be   thought 
worthy  who  hath  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God, 
and  hath  counted  the  blood  of  the  covenant  wherewith 
he  was   sanctified,  an  unholy  thing,  and   hath  done 
despite  unto  the  spirit  of  grace  ?  "      O  my  hearers, 
"  how  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  salva- 
tion ?  " 

II.  Those  do  not  believe  in  Jesus  "  who  seek  salva- 
tion and  happiness  of  saints,  of  themselves,  or  any- 
where else." 

"  They  may  boast  of  him  in  words,"  —  call  them- 
selves Christians,  —  "  but  in  deeds  deny  him  to  be  the 
only  deliverer  and  Saviour.  For  one  of  these  two 
things  must  be  true :  either  Jesus  is  not  a  complete 
Saviour,  or  they  who  by  a  true  faith  receive  this  Sa- 
viour, must  find  in  him  all  things  necessary  to  salva- 
tion." 

We  can  add  nothing  to  this  reasoning.  Jesus  saves 
his  people  from  their  sins.  If  he  cannot  do  it,  none 
can  help  him,  for  his  power  is  infinite.  If  he  under- 
takes to  do  it,  he  will  accomplish  it.  To  look  else- 
where is  to  doubt  his  power  to  save,  or  to  refuse  his 
grace.  There  is  not  a  saint  in  glory  who  does  not 
ascribe  all  his  salvation  to  Jesus  ;  and  how  can  they 
save  others  who  themselves  were  saved  ? 

If  we  be  not  lost,  utterly  lost,  we  have  no  part  \i\ 


Lkct.  XIIL] 


THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


285 


Christ,  for  he  came  to  save  only  the  lost ;  and  how  can 
a  lost  sinner  help  to  save  himself  ? 

No,  blessed  Jesus  !  Thou  art  the  Way,  and  the 
Truth,  and  the  Life  !  No  man  can  go  unto  the  Father 
but  by  thee.  Save  us  for  thy  name's  sake,  O  blessed 
Jesus  ! 


LECTURE  XIV. 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST, 


TWELFTH  LORD'S  DAT. 
THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 

Quest.  XXXI.     Why  is  he  called  Christ,  that  is,  anointed? 

Ans.  Because  he  is  ordained  of  God  the  Father,  and  anointed  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  be  our  Chief  Prophet  and  Teacher,  who  has  fully 
revealed  to  us  the  secret  counsel  and. will  of  God  concernin|if  our 
redemption;  and  to  be  our  only  High  Priest,  who,  by  the  one  sacrifice 
of  his  body,  has  redeemed  us  and  makes  continual  intercession  with 
the  Father  for  us;  and  also  to  be  our  eternal  King,  who  governs  us  by 
his  word  and  Spirit,  and  also  defends  and  preserves  us  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  that  salvation  he  hath  purchased  for  us. 

Quest.  XXXII.     But  why  art  thou  called  a  Christian  ? 

Ans.  Because  I  am  a  member  of  Christ  by  faith,  and  thus  am  partaker  of 
his  anointing,  that  so  I  may  confess  his  name,  and  present  myself  a 
living  sacrifice  of  thankfulness  to  him ;  and,  also,  that,  with  a  free  and 
good  conscience,  I  may  fight  against  sin  and  Satan  in  this  life,  and 
afterwards  reign  with  him  eternally  over  all  creatures. 

TN  our  last  lesson  we  were  taught  the  meaning  of  that 
-■"  most  precious  word  Jesus,  the  personal  name  of  our 
divine  Redeemer,  given  him  because  he  is  the  Joshua 
of  the  new  covenant,  who  "  saves  his  people  from  their 
sins."  But  there  is  another  word  habitually  associated 
in  our  faith  and  praise  with  the  name  Jesus  ;  which,  if 
understood,  greatly  confirms  our  trust  and  excites  our 
thankfulness.  Dear  brethren,  you  anticipate  my  utter- 
ance, and  your  hearts,  burning  within  you,  know  that 
it  is  Christ. 

"  I  believe,"  says  every  true  confessor  of  our  holy 
religion,  "  in  Jesus  Christ."  The  name  Jesus,  being 
as  has  been  shown  sacredly  pei*sonal,  and  from  its  sig- 
nification, applicable  only  to  him  who  alone  can  save, 
ought  never  to  be  used  with  any  other  reference,  nor 


1 


VOL.    I. 


19 


i^ 


290 


TOE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


[Lect.  XIV. 


should  any  epithet  be  derived  from  it ;  though  some, 
under  the  shadow  of  a  deplorable  superstition,  have  so 
fbused  it,  especially  that  infamous  band  of  conspirators 
against  the  peace  of  the  world,  who  cloak  a  systematic 
fiiisehood,  opposed  to  every  rule  of  the  gospel,  by  de- 
nominating themselves  The  Society  of  Jesus  Christ, 
is  not  a  personal  name,  however,  but  a  descriptive  ap- 
pellation ;  and  all  who,  by  their  union  to  Jesus  as  their 
Head,  share  in  the  honorable  blessings  which  it  repre- 
sents, may,  whatever  was  the  first  occasion  of  the  title, 
profess  and  call  themselves  Christians. 

We  are,  therefore,  now  following  the  order  of  the 
Ciwi  Wilder  the  guidance  of  the  Catechism,  to  learn, 

Fiest:   WTtt/ Jesus  is  called  Christ  ? 

And 

Secondly  :  Why  those  who  acknowledge  Him  as  their 
Saviour  are  called  C/iristians  f 

The  former  inquiry  is  met  by  the  31st  Question  and 
Answer ;  the  latter  by  the  32d. 

First  :    Why  is  Jesus  called  Christ  ? 

1.  The  word  itself  is  Greek,  and  an  adjective  derived 
from  a  verb  signifying  to  apply  oil  ;  it  translates  exactly 
the  Hebrew  word  which  we  pronounce  Messiah^  and  is 
translated  by  the  Latin  unctus,  participle  of  unguo,  from 
which  we  make  unguent^  unction^  and,  through  the 
French,  oirdment^  anoint;  so  you  perceive  that  both 
Messiah  and  Christ  mean,  as  the  Catechism  says, 
anointed, 

2.  Yet,  although,  radically,  anointment  signified  the 
application  of  oil  in  any  way,  it  came  to  have,  among 
the  Hebrews,  a  particular  and  dignified  sense  ;  because 
God  had  ordained  that  persons  designated  to  the  high 
ftmctions  of  j^n^phet,  priest,  or  king,  should  be  conse- 


Lect.  XIV.] 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


291 


crated  or  ceremoniously  confirmed  in  their  several  offi- 
ces by  the  pouring  of  oil  on  their  heads. 

a.  Thus  the  word  of  Jehovah  was :  "  Touch  not 
mine  anointed ;  and  do  my  prophets  no  harm  ;  "  usin<r 
the  two  terms,  in  poetical  parallelism,  as  synonymous, 
and  expounding  ^ach  other.  It  does  not  appear  from 
express  Scripture  that  prophets  generally  received  such 
external  unction,  but,  from  the  fact  of  Elijah  being 
commanded  to  anoint  Elisha  as  his  successor  in  the 
prophetical  authority,  we  may  suppose  that  in  more 
eminent  cases  the  rite  was  performed.  Certainly  it  is 
to  his  office  as  prophet,  that  the  language  of  Messiah  in 
Isaiah  Ixi.  1,  refers,  where  he  says:  "The  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because  the  Lord  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  glad  tidings." 

h.  As  to  priests,  the  testimony  is  explicit.     Thus,  the 
Lord,  having  directed  Moses  how  to  compound  of  olive 
oil  and  many  precious  spices  "an  holy  anointing  oil," 
said,  "  Thou  shalt  anoint  Aaron  and  his  sons,  and  con- 
secrate them,  that  they  may  minister  unto  me  in  the 
priest's  office.  (Ex.  xxx.  30.)     By  comparing  this  with 
correspondent  passages  in  Ex.  xxxix.  and  Lev.  viii.,  we 
learn  that  the  anointing  oil,  mingled  with  the  blood  of 
sacrifice,  was  sprinkled  upon  the  sacerdotal  garments 
of  both    Aaron    and   his  sons,  their   riffht   ear,  nVht 
thumb,  and  right  great  toe  being  also  touched  with  it ; 
but  the  fragrant  oil,  unmingled  with  the  blood,  was 
poured  upon   the  head  of  Aaron  alone.      Hence  the 
Psalmist :  "  Behold,  how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is 
for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity  !      It  is  like  the 
precious  ointment  upon  the  head,  that  ran  down  upon 
the  beard,  even  Aaron's  beard ;  that  (the  beard)  went 
down  to  the  skirts  of  his  garments."     It  has  been  sup- 


if 


f 


JI 

n 

If 


m 


*if^  TOTE,  ^x:?*riHST. 


[Lkot.  XIV. 


posed  by  some,  though  pe^liaps  not  correctly,  that,  after 
this  first  recognition  of  an  inferior  priesthood,  they 
^ere  not  publicly  anointed  ;  but  to  the  consecration  of 
a  hicrli  priest  the  unction  was  essential. 

c.  Samuel  anointed,  by  divine  command,  first  Saul, 
afterwards  David,  to  be  king  over  Brael ;  Zadok  the 
priest  and  Nathan  the  prophet,  anointed  Solomon; 
Elijah  anointed  Hazael  to  be  king  over  Syria,  and  Jehu 
to  be  king  over  Israel.  So  we  may  believe  the  custom 
was  perpetuated,  at  least  until  the  confusion  which  en- 
sued on  the  degeneracy  of  the  circumcised  people.  In 
Psalm  ii.  6,  Jehovah  declares :  "Yet  have  I  set  (liter- 
ally, anointed)  my  king  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion  ; " 
In  Isaiah  xlv.  he  calls  Cyrus  "  his  anointed,"  and  many 
other  Scriptures  show  that  the  term  was  applied  to 
those  gifted  by  the  special  revelation  or  providence  of 
God,  with  kingly  power. 

3.  The  Jews,  from  the  covenant  of  God  with  their 
Mhef  Abraham,  and  some  older  promises,  expected 
that  at  a  divinely  appointed  time  a  great  pei-sonage 
iWould  appear,  under  whose  administration  their  people 
^were  to  attain  the  summit  of  heavenly  favor  and  an 
unparalleled  prosperity.  That  he  would  be  a  mighty 
king  was  more  than  intimated  by  the  declaration  of  the 
dying  Jacob  concerning  Judah  :  "The  sceptre  shall  not 
depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his 
feet  (l  e.  from  among  his  descendants),  until  Shiloh  (or 
The  Pacificator)  come,  and  unto  him  shall  the  gather- 
ing of 'the  people  (or  the  Gentiles)  be.  That,  while  a 
priest  and  a  king,  he  was  to  be  a  prophet,  they  knew 
from  the  inspired  testimony  of  Moses :  "  The  Lord  thy 
Ged  will  raise  up  unto  thee  a  prophet  from  the  midst 
of  thee,  of  thy  brethren,  like  unto  me;  unto  him  shalt 


Ljbct.  XIV.]  i 


rHE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


29% 


thou  hearken."    That,  he  was  to  be  a  Priest,  they  natu- 
rally inferred  from  the  eminently  sacerdotal  character 
of  tiieir  national  constitution,  and  the  unchangeable  rule 
by  which  all  approaches  to  God  and  blessings  from  him. 
were  throuo-h  the  mediation  of  the  high  priest ;  which, 
inference  wis  fully  justified  by  David.     The  Lord  hath 
sworn  and  will  not  repent.     "  Thou  art  a  priest  forever 
after   the    order   of    Melchisedek ; "    and    Zechariahr 
**  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  BehX)ld  the  man  whose 
name  is  The   Branch,  .  .  .  he  shall  build  the  temple 
of  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  bear  the  glory,  and  shall  sife 
and  rule  upon  his  thix)ne ;  and  he  shall  be  a  priest  upon 
his  throne,  and  the  counsel  of  peace  shall  be  between 
them  both  "  (i.  e,  God  and  Ismel).     These  passages, 
and  at  least  seventy  more,  were  interpreted  by  their 
most  able  doctors  (a^  seen  in  Chaldee  Paraphrase)  as 
referring  to  Him  who  was  "  the  expectation  of  Israel." 
Hence, "though  we  find  the  word  retained  by  our  trans- 
lators only  in  one  chapter  of  the  Old  Testament  (9th 
of  Daniel),  they  habitually  called  this  promised  person- 
age, who  was  to  unite  in  himself  their  three  greatest 
offices,  —  prophet,  priest,  and  king,  — the  Messiah,  or 
the  anointed.     Thus,  Andrew,  after  his  first  meetmg 
with  Jesus,  told  Simon :  "  We  have  found  the  Messias, 
which  is,"  adds  the  Evangelist,  "  being  interpreted,  the 
Christ."      So,  also,    the    woman    of  Samaria   said   to 
'  Jesus :  "  I  know  that  Messias  cometh,  which  ia  called 
Christ  (again  interpolates  the  Evangelist)  ;  when  he  is 
come,  he^'will  tell  us  all  things ;"  and  Simon,  when  he 
answered  his  Lord's  question  by  the  clear  acknowledg- 
ment,   "  Thou  art    the    Christ,"    must,  in  his  native 
speech,  have  said,  "Thou  art  the  Messiahr        . 
II.   Our  Lord  Jesus  is  called,  throughout  the  New 


2d4 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


[Lect.  XIV. 


■>l 


i  i 


i  If 


Testament,  Christ,  for  two  reasons :  first,  because  He 
was  the  true  Messiah  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law  and 
all  the  prophets  did  write  ;  secondly  :  "  Because  he  is 
ordained  of  God  the  Father,  and  anointed  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  to  be  our  Chief  Prophet^  ....  our  only 
High  Priest^  ....  and  our  Eternal  KingJ'^ 

1.  That  our  Lord  Jesus  is  the  tnie  Messiah,  need 
not  now  to  be  further  demonstrated  than  it  is  in  the 
New  Testament ;  for  we  are  not  Jews  but  Christians, 
and  believe  the  testimony  of  the  evangelists  and  apos- 
tles who  have  shown  us  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth  all  the 
iigns  and  characteristics  which  the  prophets  had  fore- 
told of  Christ.  Whatever  discussion  on  this  point  may 
yet  be  necessary,  will  be  found  as  we  follow  the  Cate- 
chism in  the  answer  to  the  31st  Question. 

2.  Our  Lord  Jesus  is  Christ,  because  he  is  ordained 
of  God  the  Father  and  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
It  be  our  Prophet,  and  Priest,  and  King. 

A.  Ordained  of  the  Father,  anointed  with  the  Spirit, 
Himself  the  Son  of  God  incarnate.  Thus  are  the 
three  persons  of  the  ever-adorable  Godhead  united  in 
the  provision  of  a  Saviour  for  us  guilty  sinners ;  the 
Father  ordaining,  the  Son  accepting,  the  Holy  Ghost 
anointing.  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son, 
and  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  Amen. 

a.  According  to  the  plan  of  redemption  in  which  the 
Son,  as  the  representative  of  servants,  takes  officially 
the  place  of  a  servant,  he  could  not  assume  the  media- 
torship  without  the  appointment,  or,  as  the  word  in  the 
Catechism  is,  ordination  of  the  Father,  who  represents 
the  majesty  of  the  Godhead.  As  the  writer  to  the 
Hebrews  argues :    "  No  man   taketh  this  honor  (the 


Lkct.  XIT.] 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


2% 


^ 


God,  as  was  Aaron.  So  also  Christ  glorified  not  himself 
to  be  made  an  high  priest,  but  he  that  said  unto  him, 
Thou  art  my  Son,  to-day  have  I  begotten  thee.  As  he 
saith  also  in  another  place,  Thou  art  a  priest  forever 
after  the  order  of  Melchisedek,"  —  Melchisedek,  the 
Priest  of  the  most  high  God,  and  also  king  of  Salem 
or  peace,  and  also,  we  may  add,  a  Prophet,  for  he 
blessed  Abram.  From  this  appointment  or  ordination 
of  God,  the  Saviour's  office  derived  its  validity,  and  on 
its  validity  depended  its  efficacy.  The  Emmanuel  is 
mighty  to  save,  not  merely  because  of  his  righteous- 
ness, but  because  the  Father  sent  him  to  save,  and 
covenanted  to  accept  him  as  the  surety  of  his  peo- 
ple. His  works  were  not  his  own  exclusively,  but 
the  works  which  his  Father  had  given  him  to  do ; 
and  hence  when  he  had  accomplished  them  his  right  to 
save. 

b.  His  ordination  from  all  eternity  was  known  to  the 
Godhead,  but  it  was  necessary  that  it  should  be  con- 
firmed and  assured  to  us,  since  we  could  not  rely  upon 
him  until  we  knew  his  appointment  by  the  Father. 
Hence,  the  necessity  of  his  public  inauguration  with 
the  anointing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  the  sacred  per- 
fumed oil  typified.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  after  he 
had  reached  the  proper  age,  and  by  accepting  baptism 
.from  his  forerunner  he  had  fulfilled  all  preliminary 
righteousness,  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  went  up  from  the 
water,  praying  or  asking  for  the  consecration,  in  the 
sight  of  a  vast  multitude,  the  heaven  was  opened,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  in  a  bodily  shape  like  a  dove,  de- 
scended upon  him,  and  a  voice  came  from  heaven 
which  said,  "  Thou  art  my  beloved  Son ;  in  thee  I  am 
well  pleased."      It  should  not  be  overlooked  that  the 


>i 


■pi 


296 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


[Lkct.  XIV; 


I 


dov€-1ike  glory  did   not  reascend,  but  (John  i.   38) 
remained  upon  him,  as  the  oil  on  the  prophet,  priest, 
and  king.     This  unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  his 
anointing,  and,   with  the  proclamation   from    heaven, 
constituted  his  inauguration  to  the  Messiahship.     Here 
we  have  a  direct  fulfihnent  of  that  afore-cited  prophecy 
which  the  ancient  Jewish  doctors  unanimously  referred 
to  the  Messiah  :  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  Grod  m  npm 
me;   because  the  Lord  hath  anointed  me   to  preach 
good  tidings  unto  the  meek  ;  he  hath  sent  me  to  bind 
up  the  broken-hearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  cap- 
tives, and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are 
bound ;  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord, 
and  th^  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God  ;  to  comfort  all 
that  mourn,"  etc.    (Is.   Ixi.  1-3.)      As   the   sacred 
anointing  oil  was  ever  accompanied  with  the  promise 
of  divine  qualifications,  and  as  its  spices  diffused  around 
tli#  consecrated  one  a  ravishing  perfume,  so  did  the 
Holy  Spirit  remaining  on  him  strengthen  his   human 
nature,  body  and  soul,  for  his  work,  and  render  all  his 
righteousness  a  sweet-smelling  savor  to  God,  accepta- 
ble because  the  perfect  merits  of  the  Saviour,  ordained 
of  God  the  Father. 

B,  The  office  of  the  Saviour  Was  threefold,  uniting 
those  of  prophet,  priest,  and  king,  to  each  of  which 
he  was  consecrated  by  the  unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  Catechism  directs  us  to  examine  them  severally, 
that  we  may  learn  their  gracious  meaning. 

a.  He  is  "  our  Chief  Prophet  and  Teacher,  who 
has  fully  revealed  to  us  the  secret  counsel  and  will  of 
God  concerning  our  redemption." 

The  Catechism  adds  "  Teacher  "  by  wav  of  defini> 
^t't^H  Apijb  people  now  understand  a  prophet  to 


Lkct.  XIV.]! 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


29i 


be  one  who  foretells,  such  was  not  the  full  sense  of  the^ 
term  among  the  ancients,  Hebrew  or  Gi-eek  ;  but  they 
meant  by  it  one  who  declares  the  truth  of  God  to  men. 
Our  Lord  did,  indeed,  foretell  many  things^  but  he  was 
and  is  the  great  Teacher  of  his  people,  from  whom  we: 
learn  all  that  God  would  reveal  to  us.     So  he  declares^ 
of  himself,  "  I  am    .  .  .    the  Truth ;  "  and  Peter  at 
the  Beautiful  Gate  says :  "  Moses  truly  said  unto  the  • 
fathers,  a  prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up 
unto  you  of  your  brethren,  like  unto  me  ;  him  shall  ye^ 
hear  in  all  things  whatsoever  he  shall  say  unto  you  ;  " 
and  when  the  Catechism  asserts  that  he  has  fully  re- 
vealed to  us  the  secret  counsel  and  will  of  God,  by 
'•  secret "  is  meant  the  "  counsel  and  will  "  which,  but 
for  his  teaching,  would  be  unknown. 

The  learned  Jews  found  it  necessary  for  the  under* 
standing  of  the  Scriptures,  to  believe  that  God  revealed 
himself  and  uttered  his  will  by  a  personal  word  or 
voice,  and  never  immediately,  or  without  such  inter- 
vention,  communicated  to  men  ;  but  their  doctrine  on- 
this  point  was  painfully  obscure.  John,  in  the  first 
chapter  of  his  Gospel,  makes  the  fact  clear,  by  showings 
that  the  Word  which  was  in  the  beginning  with  God,, 
was  also  himself  God,  even  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
the  Father,  who,  in  the  person  of  our  Lord  Jesus,. 
"  became  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us."  "  No  man? 
(rather  no  one)  hath  seen  God  at  any  time ;  tlie  only 
begotten  Son  which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he 
hath  declared  him  ;  "  that  is,  has  made  his  being  and 
will  known  to  us.  Thus  our  Lord  Jesus,  who  is  our 
Prophet  or  Teacher,  is  none  else  than  God  the  Son, 
the  second  Person  of  the  ever-blessed  Trinity,  incarnate 
as  the  Son  of  man.     The  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  sets 


US 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


[Lect.  XIV. 


i 


forth  the  same  truth  :  "  God,  who  at  sundry  times  and 
•  in  divers  manners  spake  unto  the  fathers  by  the  pi-oph- 
ets,  hath  in  these  last  days,  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son, 
whom  he  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things,  "^by  whom 
also  he  made  the  worlds;  who,  being  the  briglitness," 
that  is,  the  shining  forth,  "of  his  glory,  and  the  express 
image  (or  manifest  counterpart,  as  the  impression  is  of 
a  seal),  and  upholding  all  things  by  the  word  (utter- 
ance) of  his  powei,  when  he  had  by  himself  pui-ged 
Ofir  sins,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty^'on 
high."     Here  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ   is  identified 
with  the  Son  of  God,  who  alone  reveals  the  glory  of 
God  and  his  excellent  nature ;  and  the  Father  now  in 
the  Gospel  speaks  to  us  by  the  same  Word  by  whom 
« the  worlds  were  made.''    The  Son,  whose  divine  office 
it  ever  has  been  to  declare  the  truth  of  his  Father's 
will,  now  becomes  incarnate,  that  he  may  by  his  Gospel 
make  a  nearer  and  fuller  revelation  of  his  grace. 

The  Scriptures  of  both  the  Old  and  the  New  Testa- 
ments were  written  by  men  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  in- 
spired for  the  work ;  but  as,  according  to  the  plan  of 
redemption,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  our 
Lord  Jesus  teaches  us  by  the  whole  Book  of  God.  He 
is  the  great  Prophet  who  speaks  through  all  the  proph- 
ets ;  he  is  the  great  Apostle  who  speaks  through  all 
the  apostles  ;  the  Prophet  of  prophets,  the  AposTle  of 
apostles.  And  as  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whose  illumi- 
nating and  transforming  influences,  accompanying  the 
various  means  of  instruction  ordained  for  us  of  ^God, 
make  them  effectual,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  spirit 
of  Christ ;  so  all  the  knowledge  we  gain  from  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Spirit  of  God  without,  and  the  blessing  of 
that  divine  Spirit  within  us,  is  derived  from  the  Lord 


Lect.  XIV.] 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


299 


Jesus,  our  Prophet  and  Teacher.  To  him  alone  are 
we  to  look,  from  him  alone  we  are  to  learn.  The  eter- 
nal Word  made  flesh,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  '^  the 
True  Light  which  ligliteth  every  man  that  cometh  into 
the  world." 

b.  He,  who  is  *'  the  Apostle,"  is  also  the  "  Hio-h 
Priest  of  our  profession."  Our  Lord  Jesus  is  "  our 
only  High  Priest,  who,  by  the  one  sacrifice  of  his 
body,  has  redeemed  us,  and  makes  continual  interces- 
sion with  the  Father  for  us."  That  our  Lord  Jesus 
has  been  ordained  and  anointed  to  be  our  High  Priest, 
is  sufficiently  established  by  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
and  other  Scriptures.  "  For  such  a  High  Priest  be- 
came us,  who  is  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  separate  from 
sinners,  and  made  higher  than  the  heavens." 

Like  the  typical  high  priests,  his  office  is  twofold : 
To  make  an  atonement  by  sacrifice  for  those  whom 
he  represents  ;  and  to  make  intercession  with  God  for 
them. 

a.  a.  In  our  study  of  several  previous  sections  of  the 
Catechism,  and  particularly  the  last,  we  learned  how 
the  Lord  Jesus  has  redeemed  his  people  from  the  curse 
of  death,  due  to  them  for  their  sins,  by  taking  their 
place  and  suffering  the  penalty  of  the  law  in  their  stead. 
This  vicarious  suffering  is  represented  as  a  sacrifice. 
The  victim  was  himself,  his  divinely  begotten  and  sin- 
less humanity,  body  and  soul  ;  the  altar  was  his  own 
indwelling  divinity  which  sanctified  the  oflering,  mak- 
ing its  merits,  of  itself  finite,  infinitely  meritorious  ; 
and  as  he  was  both  Sacrifice  and  Altar,  so  he  is  also 
the  Priest;  and,  as  none  but  the  High  Priest  could 
make  an  atoning  sacrifice,  he  is  our  only  High  Priest. 
The  typical  sacrifices  being  mere  figures,  utterly  in- 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


[Lect.  XIV. 


Lbct.  XIV.] 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


301 


ir 


sufficient,  needed  to  be  repeated;  but  our  great  High 
Priest,  "  after  he  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins  fop*- 
ever,"  a  sacrifice  infinitely  sufficient,  and  therefore  of 
eternal  efficacy,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand:  of  God, 
Irom  henceforth  expecting  till  his  enemies  be  made  his 
footstool ;  his  offering  accepted,  his  work  as  a  Sacrificer 
was  done,  and  he  now  waits  for  his  promised  reward  r 
"for  by  one  offering  he  hath  perfected  forever  them 
that  are  sanctified."     «  There  remaineth  no  more  sac- 
rifice for  sins ; "  none  other  is  needed,  none  other  can 
be  offered ;  nor  can-  that  one  sacrifice  be  repeated,  as 
the  Papists  in  their  deplorable  superstition  pretend  by 
the  Mass,  nor  need  we  nor  can  we  have  any  Hi<^^ 
Priest  but  he,  as  the  Papists  blasphemously  pretend  by 
calling  the  head  of  their  superstition  the  Chief  Pontiff. 
The  work  of  atonement  is  finished,  finished  for  us, 
finished  for  all  who  believe :  whereof  God  has  given 
assurance  in  raising  our  Lord  Jesus  from  the  dead,  and 
setting  him  at  his  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly 
-places.      O  blessed   Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our    hope  of 
pardon  is  alone  in  thee,  and  in  thy  death  upon  the 
cross  ! 

h  h.  When  the  typical  high  priest  had  offered  the 
sacrifice  of  atonement  without,  he  entered  within  the 
vail,  and  there,  having  sprinkled  the  blood  of  the  vic- 
tim over  the  cover  of  the  ark  that  contained  the  broken 
law,  he  made  intercession  by  fervent  prayer  for  the 
people.  So  our  true  High  Priest,  after  finishing  his 
work  of  satisfaction,  passed  into  the  heavens;  and 
there,  not  for  a  little  while  but  constantly,  he  abides, 
making  intercession  for  us ;  not  as  a  suppliant,  at  the 
foot  of  the  throne,  but  as  the  Son  of  God  seated  on 
the  throne  itself,  and  asking  of  his  willing  Father  the 


fulfilment  of  the  covenant,  whose  condition  on  his  part 
he  had  fulfilled :  even  eternal  life  for  all  who  believe  in 
his  name.  Through  him,  therefore,  unworthy  as  we 
are  in  ourselves,  we  may  have  access  with  boldness 
"unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  obtain  mercy 
and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need."  All  our  pray- 
ers must  go  up  to  the  Father  through  him,  and,  as  he 
has  been  accepted  for  a  sacrifice,  his  advocacy  of  our 
cause  will  be  prevalent ;  and  the  Father  through  him 
will  grant  us  pardon  and  life  eternal.  All  our  services, 
with  our  hearts,  must  be  presented  through  him,  and, 
having  washed  them  from  their  sinfulness,  he,  with  the 
perfume  of  his  anointment,  will  make  them  acceptable; 
and  he,  receiving  the  reward  of  his  own  righteousness, 
will  bestow  in  return  for  our  poor  services  blessinors 
far  more  abundant  "  than  we  can  ask  or  think."  Unto 
ihim  be  glory  in  the  Clnirch  throughout  all  ages,  world 
without  end.  Amen. 

c.  He  is  "  our  eternal  King,  who  governs  us  by 
his  word  and  spirit;  and  who  defends  and  preserves 
us  in  (the  enjoyment  of)  that  salvation  he  has  pur- 
chased." 

God,  because  he  is  the  only  Creator,  is  the  only  Sov- 
ereign of  all  creature  intelligent  or  material,  and  any 
authority  or  control  over  them  exerted  by  any  other 
than  himself  immediately,  must  be  derived  from  his 
ordination  or  providence.  Our  blessed  Saviour,  when 
he  condescended  to  be  our  representative,  and  associated 
•our  humanity  with  his  divinity,  took  a  position  necessa- 
rily inferior  to  the  Sovereign,  though,  as  to  his  original 
nature,  the  Second  Person  of  the  Godhead;  and 
accordingly,  that  he  might  be  fully  qualified  to  accom- 
plish all  the  divine  purposes  of  his  mission,  he  received 


302 


THE  '"WmM,  ciRisrr. 


[Iect.  xnr. 


'«t  f^tlier,  representinrr  the  Godhead,  all  author- 
ity and  power.     This  kingship  or  lordship  is  delegated  ; 
and  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  infinite  rlcrht  to 
reign  which  is  his,  coequally  with  the  Father  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  as  the  Second  Person  of  the  ever-blessed 
Smlllfud.    "  All  power  is  given  to  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth,'*  said  he  to  liis  apostles  just  before  his  ascension  ; 
mti  il  was  granted  to  him  in  acknowledgment  of  his 
perfect  .righteousness,  passive  and    active,    during    his 
humiliation  on  earth.     "  Let  this  mind  be  in  you,  which 
nis  illso  itt  Clirisl  Jesus;  who,  being  in  the  form  of 
God,  thought  It  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God  :  but 
made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the 
form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of 
men :  and  lieing  found  in  iashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled 
linimjlf  and  became  obedient  wnto  (until)  death,  even  the 
death  of  the  cross.  Wherefore,  God  also  hath  highly 
exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  (awhoritfj)  which 
is  above  every  name  :  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  eveiy 
knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in 
eartli,  and   things    under    the  earth  ;    and   that  every 
tongue  siumld  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father."     Here  you  see  that  this  uni- 
versal dominion  it  given  to  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God  in- 
carnate, as  a  servant,  —  to  Jesus  Oliiist,  or  the  anointed 
Jesus,  after  he    had   been   obedient   until    death,  and 
because  of  his  obedience,  and  the  residt  will  be  "  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father."      Hence,  as  this  authority 
was  delegated  to  Jesus  as  the  Mediator,  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  distinguish  it  from  his  original  authority  as 
the  Son  of  God  by  calling  it  his  mediatorial  kingdom ; 
by  wiiicli  we  mean  all  the  power  necessary  for  the  full 
salvation  of  those  he  has  redeemed  bv  his  riohteous- 


Lkct.  XIV.] 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


303 


ness,  and  for  the  vindication  of  the  divine  honor  in  the 
redemption  of  his  people. 

This  kingdom  has  two  parts,  as  the  Catechism 
teaches.  One,  a  kingdom  over  his  people  ;  the  other, 
a  kingdom  over  all  things  for  the  benefit  of  his  people; 
*'  He  saves  us ;  "  "  He  defends  and  preserves  us  in 
that  salvation  he  has  purchased  for  us." 

a,  a.   His  kingdom  over  his  church. 

Thus  the  annunciating  angel  to  the  blessed  virgin  : 
"  The  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his 
father  David,  and  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of 
Jacob  forever,  and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no 
end."  So  also,  the  Psalmist  as  cited  in  the  Hebrews  : 
**  Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Melchis- 
edek,  which  united  the  kingship  over  those  for  whom 
the  priestship  was  exercised,  —  Melchisedek,  which  is  by 
interj)retation  king  of  righteousness,  and  king  of  Salem, 
which  signifies  king  of  peace.  Our  Jesus  rules  in 
righteousness  and  peace  over  all  for  whom  his  atone- 
ment and  intercession  are  accepted.  The  same  thing 
is  declared  by  the  apostle :  "Who  gave  himself  for  us, 
that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify 
unto  himself  a  pecuhar  people  (a  people  who  are  his 
©wn),  zealous  of  good  works."  Redemption,  purifica- 
tion, sanctification,  are  united  in  his  care  of  his  own 
people.  "  Thine  they  were  and  thou  gavest  them  me," 
said  he  unto  his  Father  in  his  mediatorial  prayer. 

The  method  of  his  governinor  his  church  is  twofold : 
"  He  governs  us,"  says  the  Catechism,  "  by  his  Word 
and  Spirit." 

His  peoj)le  are  a  willing  people.  The  Saviour  rules 
over  them,  not  by  force  of  mere  authority,  but  with  the 
consent  of  their  hearts  and  minds.     Hence  he  reveals 


ft 


H 


I : 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


|[Lect.  XIV. 


lis  word,  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  the  law  and  constitu- 
tion of  his  kingdom,  the  rule  by  which  his  people  shall 
serve  him,  and  the  source  of  the  motives  from  which 

ithey  shall  serve  him. 

®llt  iimr  'dispositions  are  naturally  opposed  to  the 
divine  will.  "  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God, 
and  ii  mol  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed 
Cftii  be  ; "  consequently,  the   more  that   the   truth   is 

•pressed  upon  the  unrenewed  soul,  the  greater  will  be  its 

*enmity  and  its  opposition.  There  is,  therefore,  a  neces- 
sity of  a  divine  energy  to  convert  the  soul  to  the  love 

/of  God,  and  to  a  choice  of   the   service   he   requires. 

•**  IThy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power." 
This  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who,  because  his 

^influences  are  obtained  through  the  merits  and  inter- 
cession of  Christ,  is  called  the  Spirit  of  Christ.     He, 

il^  'tis  sovereign,  mysterious  agency  on  the  soul  and 

^through  the  word,  converts  the  heart  to  love,  enlight- 
ens the  mind  to  approve,  and  inclines  the  will  to  choose 

'Afi  word  of  God  as  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice. 

,l*or  shall  this  divine  influence  ever  cease  ;  for  not  only 
will  it  bring  the  believer  gradually  to  a  perfect  sanctifi- 

'Cation  in  heaven,  but  there  perpetually  maintain  the 
glorified  saint  in  a  holy  happiness.      This  kingdom  of 

Christ  is  eternal.  "He  shall  rule  over  the  house  of 
Jacob  forever." 

h,  b.  His  kingdom  ovar«||tt  things  for  the  benefit  of 
his  people. 

Inasmucli  as  the  church  is  exposed  to  great  enmity 

from  wicked  men  and  wicked  spirits,  besides  finding 

many  obstacles  to  its  progress  and  final  triumph  from 

the  state  of  things  occasioned  by  sin,  there  is  necessity 

'ibr  the   divine    defence    and    preservation    of   every 


Lect.  XIV.] 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


305 


believer,  and  of  the  whole  body,  that  the  salvation  pup- 
chased  be  secured.  Therefore,  all  power  is  given  to 
him  and  exerted  by  him  for  his  people.  He  is  "  Head 
over  all  things  to  his  Church."  All  power  over  earth 
is  his.  The  forces  of  nature,  the  discoveries  of  science, 
the  commercial  intercourse  of  nations,  the  wars  between 
them,  their  revolutions .  and  politics,  all  are  controlled 
and  combined  in  his  hand  for  the  furtherance  of  his 
cause.  All  power  is  his  over  heaven.  As  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  he  brings  all  his  angelic  armies  to  serve  him  in 
his  mediatorship.  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits, 
sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of 
salvation  ?  All  power  is  his  over  hell.  For  he  has 
conquered  death,  and  him  that  had  the  power  of  death, 
that  is,  the  devil.  He  does  not,  indeed,  make  the  ma- 
lignant spirits  who  contend  against  us  his  willing  sub- 
jects, neither  does  he,  for  wise  reasons,  wholly  prevent 
their  wicked  activity ;  but,  as  he  showed  when  on 
earth,  even  the  devils  are  subject  to  Jiim.  They  can  do 
nothing  without  his  permission,  and,  as  will  be  seen  in 
the  end,  he  will  overrule  all  their  machinations  for  his 
glory  and  the  prosperity  of  the  Church,  and  of  every 
member  of  his  church.  It  is  in  this  that  the  apostle 
exults :  *'  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ? 
He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up 
for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us 
all  things  ?  .  .  .  .  Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love 
of  Christ  ?  Shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution, 
or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword  ?  .  .  .  . 
Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors, 
through  him  that  loved  us.  For  I  am  persuaded  that 
neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities, 
nor  powers,,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come, 

VOL.  I.  20 


n 


\\  \ 
i  i 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


[Lect.  XIV. 


Lect.  XI V.J 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


307 


^' 


nor  heicrht,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  he 
able  to  "separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."     This  kingdom  over  all  things 
having  been  bestowed  upon  him  for  the  specific  purpose 
of  bringing  all  his  people  triumphantly  to  glory,  is  not 
eternal  I  but,  when  that  purpose  is  accomplished,  and 
when  at  the  final  judgment  he  will  have  vindicated  the 
Justice  of  God  in  the  condemnation  of  those  who  reject 
the  offers  of  mercy,  it  will  revert  to  God,— Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost.   As  we  learn  from  the  apostle  :  "  Then 
Cometh  the  end,  when  he  shall  have  delivered  up  the 
kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father  (as  the  representative 
of  the  Godhead)  ;  when  he  shall  have  put  down  all  rule 
and  all  authority  and  power.     For  he  must  reign  till 
he  hath  put  all  Jnemies  under  his  feet.  The  last  enemy 
that  shall  be  destroyed  is  death.     For  he  hath  put  all 
things  under  his  fpet.      But  when  he  saith,  all  things 
are  put  under  hhn,  it  is  manifest  that  he  is  excepted 
which  did  put  all  tilings  under  him.      And   when  all 
things  shall  be  subdued  unto  him,  then  shall  the  Son 
lalso^'himself  be  subject  unto  him   that  put  all  things 
under  him,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all ; "  that  is,  prov- 
idence, which  for  the  church  has  been  entrusted  to  the 
Son  as  the  Mediator,  will  revert  to  the  hands  of  God, 
and  the  Son  as  Mediator  *  with  the  Church,  whose 
head   he   is   eternally,   will   be    subject   to  God,  who, 
thenceforward,  will  reign  immediately. 

Thus  is  it  our  privilege,  beloved  Christians,  to  see  in 
Christ  all  that  is  necessary  for  his  office  as  our  Saviour. 

»  Some  think  that  by  the  Son  here  is  intended  the  human  nature  of 
Christ  (Thomas  Aquinas  in  Epistolas)  forwliich  compare  lleb.  i.  1,  1  8.  viii. 
5,  6,  Heb.  ii.  5-9.  I  prefer  the  interpretation  given.  The  church,  ever 
existing,  will  exist  in  its  heail;  the  humanity  will  ever  be  conjoined  to  the 
divuiity.  Hence  the  person  of  Christ  is  *'  subject  unto  U!m  that  put  all 
things  under  him." 


What  he  promises  he  obtains;  what  he  obtains  he 
secures  for  all  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him.  The 
covenant  of  our  redemption  is  made,  not  between  us 
and  the  Father ;  but  between  the  Father  and  Son  in- 
carnate as  our  Mediator  with  the  Father.  The  hope 
of  the  true  believer,  therefore,  cannot  fail ;  for  it  is 
established  on  the  truth,  the  merits  and  the  power  of 
him  whom  the  Father  has,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  anointed 
to  be  our  Prophet,  our  Priest,  and  our  King. 

Secondly  :  Wht^  are  those  who  acknowledge  Jesus  as 
their  Saviour  called  Christians? 

We  have  no  mention  of  the  word  Christian  until  we 
come  to  Acts  xi.  26,  where  the  historian  says  that  about 
the  time  when  Paul  and  Barnabas  spent  a  whole  year 
with  the  Church  and  taught  much  people  at  Antioch, 
the  disciples  were  there  first  called  Christians.  Many 
contend  that  this  name  was  given  them  by  divine  reve- 
lation or  apostolic  authority  ;  but  if  that  had  been  the 
case  it  would  in  all  probability  have  been  so  recorded  ; 
and  the  more  reasonable  opinion  seems  to  be  that,  owing 
to  the  remarkable  success  attending  the  labors  of  Paul 
and  Silas,  the  disciples  increased  to  such  a  considerable 
sect  as  to  require  a  particular  designation.  Christian 
may  have  been  the  name  pitched  upon  by  the  unbeliev^ 
ing  out  of  derision,  and,  no  doubt,  it  was  used  in  con- 
tempt;  but  it  is  certain  that  it  was  a  very  natural 
appellation,  as  all  people  are  used  to  call  the  followers 
of  an  eminent  teacher  by  his  name,  as  Socratics,  Cal- 
vinists,  Wesleyans.  The  name,  however,  soon  came 
to  be  applied  and  understood  generally,  as  "  Agrippa 
said  unto  Paul,  almost  thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a 
Christian  ; "  and  it  received  apostolical  sanction,  as  it  is 
used  by  Peter  in  his  first  epistle,  iv.  16. 


I  I 


f 


i 


I         I 


J 


ili  THE  TITLE,  CHRIST*  [Lect.  XIV. 

The  Catechism  takes  occasion  from  its  etymology, 
and  very  properly,  to  describe  under  it  the  privileges 
and  distinguishing  characteristics  of  all  who  are  truly 
called  after  Christ. 

The  doctrine  of  the  whole  New  Testament  is,  that 
believers  are  represented  or  covered  by  Christ ;  that 
the  history  of  Christ's  personal  body  is  a  parable  of  the 
Church,  which  is  his  spiritual  body ;  and  that  all  our 
blessings  having  been  primarily  conferred  on  our  Head 
reach  us  through  him,  as  all  our  services  must  be  ren- 
dered unto  God  through  his  mediation. 

I.  Hence  our  Catechism  makes  the  believer  say:  "I 
am  a  member  of  Christ  by  faith,  and  thus  am  partaker 
of  his  anointing."      Belief  in  Christ  is  evidence  of 
union  to  him  and  of  participation  with  him  ;  for,  as  the 
oil  upon  the  head  of  Aaron  mn  down  to  the  skirts  of 
his  garments,  so  does  the  anointing  of  Christ  flow  over 
bis  whole  body,  even  to  the  most  humble  believer.    We 
have  seen  that  the  anointing  oil  represented  the  Holy 
Spirit,  which,  for  the  assistance  of  our  faith,  came  down 
visibly  upon  the  head  of  Christ  after  he  had  passed 
through  baptism  to  John  and  abode  upon  him  ;  so  not 
less  truly,  though  invisibly,  is  every  believer  sanctified 
unto  God  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  Christ's  Spirit, 
and  reaches  his  people  through  his  infinitely  meritori- 
<ius  mediation.     Not  only  are  they  regenerated,  or  born 
again  of  the  Spirit,  but  the  Holy  Ghost  dwells  in  them 
as  an  animating,  enlightening,  strengthening,  elevating 
principle,  maintaining  their  union  to  Christ,  even  as 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  consecrated,  moved,  in- 
structed, upheld  and  maintained  his  humanity,  until  his 
work  would  be  accomplished. 

II.  But  as  Christ  Jesus  was  anointed  to  the  several 


Lecjt.  XIV.] 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


30d 


offices  necessary  for  his  work  of  redemption,  so  the 
effects  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  each  anointed  believer 
must   in   some   proper   measure    correspond   to   those 

offices. 

1.  Christ  is  our  anointed  Prophet,  the  great  Pub- 
lisher of  truth :  so  "  all  the  Lord's  people  are  prophets," 
for  "  the  Lord  hath  put  his  spirit  upon  them."  (See 
Numbers  xi.  29.)  This  imitation  of  Christ  in  his  pro- 
phetical office  is  condensed  here  into  confession  of  hia 
name.  Every  believer  who  openly  professes  to  be  a 
Christian,  gives  his  testimony  from  conviction  and  ex- 
perience that  the  Gospel  of  Christ  is,  indeed,  the  truth 
of  God  unto  salvation  ;  then  he  adds  to  it  the  confirma- 
tion of  a  godly  example,  and  according  to  the  measure 
he  has  of  Christ's  spirit,  will  he  strive  to  send  the 
Gospel  as  Christ  sends  to  all  men  in  all  the  world. 
This  last  prophetical  duty  of  the  believer  is  eminently 
characteristic  of  a  Christian  life,  and  those  who  regard 
the  missions  of  Christianity  with  indifference,  or  assist 
them  reluctantly,  may  well  doubt  if  they  have  Christ's 
spirit,  for  they  neither  obey  his  commands,  nor  follow 
his  example.  In  a  word,  the  life  of  a  Christian  is,  by 
the  same  Spirit  which  saves  him,  consecrated  to  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel  throughout  the  world. 

2.  Christ  is  our  Priest,  through  whose  atonement 
and  mediation  all  the  services  of  the  Church  are  to  be 
acceptably  offered  ;  for,  many  as  were  the  religious  ser* 
tices  of  both  inferior  priests  and  people  under  the  Jew- 
ish dispensation,  they  all  derived  their  value  from  the 
expiatory  sacrifice  and  intercessory  prayers  of  the  High 
Priest.  So,  as  Christ  by  the  eternal  Spirit  offered  him- 
self unto  God,  the  believer  by  the  same  Spirit  offers  his 
whole  life.     The  work  of  atonement  and  mediation  is 


,         It 

*i|  If  f 


310 


THE  TITLE,  CHBIST. 


[Lkct.  XIV. 


^  icuHar  to  Christ,  but,  through  his  purifying  and  pre- 
vailing merits,  the  believer  presents  himself  a  living 
sacrifice  of  thankfulness  to  God.  His  whole  life,  all 
his  faculties,  all  his  influence,  all  he  has  and  all  he  is, 
are  a  thank  oflering  for  the  blessings  of  salvation. 
'Hence  the  true  Israel  are  called  by  the  prophet  "a 
nation  of  priests  ; "  and  the  Apostle  Peter  unites  with 
4he  Apostle  Paul  in  designating  the  Church  as  an  holy 
priesthood  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacrifices  (sacrifices  dic- 
tated by  heart  and  mind),  acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus 
Christ.  Thus,  as  priests  as  well  as  prophets,  our  whole 
strength  belongs  to  God  by  the  consecration  of  the 
same  spirit  which  makes  us  members  of  Christ. 

3.  Christ  is  our  King  ;  therefore,  as  his  subjects,  his 
willing  people,  are  we  to  obey  him  wholly,  making  his 
word  our  rule  of  Christian  conduct,  and  following  the 
monitions  of  his  Spirit  in  all  things.     But  as  we  are 
subject  to  sinful  temptations  from  within,  and  from  the 
worid,  and  from  the  devil,  who  makes  use  of  both  our 
evil  nature  and  the  world  to  seduce  and  intimidate  us,  we 
are  animated  by  the  consciousness  of  our  acceptance  with 
God  in  Christ,  resolutely,  heartily  and  courageously  to 
contend  against  sin  and  Satan  in  this  life,  trusting  in  the 
power  of  Christ  to  conquer  our  enemies,  and  in  the  grace 
of  his  Spirit  to  conquer  ourselves.   Nay,  we  are  to  regard 
ourselves,  each  one  of  us,  as  soldiers  of  that  sacramen- 
tal army,  the  Church  militant,  which,  by  the  blessing 
of  God  upon  his  word,  is  to  subdue  this  revolted,  angry 
world,  in  spite  of  its  oppositions  and  persecutions,  its 
wrath,  its  power,  and  its  ostentations.     We  follow  a 
conquering  King  through  battle  and  fatigue  and  suffer- 
ing, but  if  we  be  faithful  unto  death,  we  shall  share 
his  certain,  inevitable,  and  glorious  triumph.     "  Unto 


Lect.  XIV.] 


THE  TITLE,  CHRIST. 


811 


him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  sit  down  with  me 
upon  my  throne,  even  as  I  have  overcome  and  am  sat 
down  with  mv  Father  on  his  throne."  Whatever 
honors  preeminent  he  enjoys  eternally,  whatever  king- 
dom he  shall  rule  forever,  his  faithful  ones  shall  share 
with  him  immortally ;  for  he  who  hath  made  them 
priests,  has  by  the  same  word  and  spirit  made  them 
kings  unto  God  and  his  Christ.  His  prophetical  office 
shall  cease,  and  theirs  with  his,  for  all  prophecies  shall 
fail  when  divine  knowledge  is  perfect ;  but  his  priestly 
office,  and  theirs  in  rendering  worship  and  praise,  his 
kingly  office,  and  theirs  in  the  power  of  the  Father,  are 
eternal.  He  the  Melchisedek,  king  of  Salem,  king  of 
righteousness.  Priest  of  the  most  high  God  ;  and  they 
a  royal  priesthood.  O  Christ  our  prophet,  O  Christ 
our  priest,  O  Christ  our  King,  Lord  Jesus  Christ  our 
only  Saviour,  behold  us  at  thy  feet,  that  we  may  catch 
the  drops  descending  from  thine  anointment,  and  so  walk 
worthy  of  the  holy  name  of  Christian,  wherewith  we 
are  called  I     Amen. 


J' 


'M 


N  I 


,il'    ■"•'  .1 


LECTURE  XV. 


THE  SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST. 


^ 


['a 


if     % 


THIRTEENTH    LORD'S    DAY. 

THE   SONSHIP   AND   GOVERNMENT   OF 

CHRIST. 

Quest.    XXXin.      Why  is  Christ  cttUed  the  only  begotten  Son  of   God^ 

since  we  are  a  ho  the.  (hiUren  vf  Godf 
Aks.    Because  Christ  alone  is  the  eternal  and  natural  Son  of  God;  but  we 

are  children  adopted  of  God,  by  grace,  f«»r  his  sake. 
Quest.  XXXIV.      Wherefore  adlest  thou  him  our  Lordf 
Aks.    Because  he  hath  redeemed  us,  both  soul  and  body,  from  all  our  sins, 

not  with  gold  or  silver,  but  with  his  precious  blood,  and  hath  delivered 

us  from  all  the  power  of  the  devil,  and  thus  hath  made  us  his  own 

property. 

TN  our  study  of  the  section  for  the  Eleventh  Lord's 
-*-  Day,  it  was  our  delightful  privilege  to  meditate  on 
the  fragrant  name  of  Jesus,  and  in  that  for  the  Twelfth 
we  learned  the  meaning  of  Christ,  his  title  of  consecra- 
tion as  our  Mediator  with  God,  the  Prophet,  Priest, 
and  King  of  his  people.  There  yet  remain  two  other 
appellations  by  which  the  Catholic  Church  recognizes 
him  as  worthy  of  our  divine  homage  and  entire  obedi- 
ence ;  the  first  descriptive  of  his  essential  divinity,  the 
other  of  his  supreme  authority :  "  The  only  begotten 
Son  of  God,"  "  our  Lord.'*  "  I  believe  in  God  the 
Father  Almighty,  and  in  Jesus  Christ,  Ids  only  begotten 
Son^  our  Loroty 

There  is,  therefore,  no  need  of  further  preface  to  our 
use  of  the  lesson  before  us,  which,  as  we  see  at  once, 
teaches  us. 

First  :  The  reason  -why  Ohrist  is  called,  The  only 
begotten  Son  of  God, 

Thirty-third  Question  and  Answer. 


^    i: 


316       SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.   [Lect.  XV. 

Secondly  :   The  reason  tvhy  we  call  him  our  Lord, 

Thirty-fourth  Question  and  Answer. 

First  :  The  reason  why  Christ  is  called  the  only  he- 
gotten  Son  of  God, 

"Why,"  asks  the  Catechism,  "is  Christ  called  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God,  since  we  are  also  the  chil- 
dren of  God  ?  "  "  Because,"  we  are  instructed  to 
answer,  **  Christ  alone  is  the  eternal  and  natural  Son 
of  God,  but  we  are  children  adopted  of  God  by  grace 
for  Christ's  sake." 

I.  Sonship  to  God  is,  by  the  Scriptures,  ascribed  to 
Hlher  persons  besides  Jesus  Christ,  viz:  The  holy  an- 
gels^ of  whom  we  read,  "  All  the  sons  of  God  shouted 
for  joy ; "  men  generally,  for  the  Evangelist  Luke,  in 
his  genealogy  of  the  Saviour,  traces  it  back  to  "  Adam, 
which  was  the  Son  of  God  ;  "  we  are  all  of  us  com- 
HHIlded  to  pray,  saying,  "  Our  Father  which  art  in 
heaven,"  and  the  Apostle  Paul  strongly  approves  the 
declaration  of  a  Greek  poet,  that  men  are  the  offspring 
of  God ;  worshippers  of  God,  when  distinguished  from 
those  who  do  not  worship  him,  as  the  sacred  historian 
Mk  us  that  "  the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daucrhters  of 
men  ; "  the  children  of  Israel,  after  they  had  been  sol- 
emnly covenanted  with  God  :  "  Ye  are,"  said  Moses  to 
them  by  divine  command,  "  the  children  of  the  Lord 
your  God ;  "  magistrates,  who  are  the  ministers  of 
God,  in  a  certain  sense,  before  the  people,  as  the 
Psalmist  to  the  judges :  "  I  have  said.  Ye  are  gods 
(i.  e.  high  persons),  and  all  of  you  are  children  of  the 
Most  High  ; "  and,  especially,  believers  in  Christ,  who, 
for  Christ's  sake,  and  being  renewed  by  the  grace  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  are  owned  as  the  "  sons  and  daughters 
of  the  Lord  Almighty,"  having  "  received  the  spirit  of 


l«CT.  XV.]    SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.      317 

adoption."  Our  Lord  is  distinguished  infinitely  above 
these  by  the  character  of  his  filiation,  or  sonship.  An- 
gels and  men  are  called  sons  of  God,  simply  because 
he  has  given  them  their  being ;  worshippers  of  God, 
because  they  acknowledge  his  paternal  rule  and  care ; 
the  covenanted  Israelites,  because  he  took  them  under 
his  special  guardianship ;  magistrates,  because  they  rep- 
resent his  authority ;  and  Christians,  because  he  adopts 
them  into  his  family  through  their  union  to  Chnst :  the 
term  in  all  these  cases  being  used  figuratively  and  im- 
plying no  essential  relationship  to  God.  But  our  Lord 
is  styled :  the  Son  of  God  ;  his  own  Son ;  his  only  5e- 
gotten  Scm ;  which  expressions  imply  that  he  is  the  Son 
of  God  in  an  excellent,  peculiar,  natural,  and  there- 
fore an  eternal  relation. 

1.  The  Son  of  God.  No  one  can  read  the  New 
Testament,  the  epistles  as  well  as  the  historical  books, 
without  seeing  that  this  title  as  applied  to  our  Saviour 
has  a  very  eminent  signification,  and  can  by  no  means 
be  confounded  with  the  figurative  sonship  of  angels  or 
men.  Belief  in  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God,  is  compre- 
hensive of  all  Christian  faith.  Thus  the  Evangelist 
John  gives  the  testimony  of  John  the  Forerunner: 
f*  I  saw  and  bare  record  that  this  is  the  Son  of  God." 
i*  He  saith  unto  them:  But  whom  say  ye  that  I  am  ? 
And  Simon  Peter  answered  and  said.  Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  And  Jesus  an- 
swered and  said  unto  him  :  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon 
Bar-Jona,  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto 
thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  "  Whatso- 
ever is  born  of  God  overcometh  the  world,  and  this  is 
the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith. 
Who  is  he  that  overcometh   the  world,  but  he  that 


S18     mrnm  im  government  of  CHRIST.    [Lict.  XV. 

believetli   tliat   Jesus   Christ   is   the   Son    of    God?'* 
Now,  surely,  these  expressions  cannot  mean  that  Clirist 
was  tlie  Son  of  God  in  any  such  sense  as  Adam  was  or 
any  Christian  m     What  need  of  the  Baptist's  solemn 
assurance  for  this  ?      Did  sucli  a  conviction  require  a 
special  revelation  ?  or  could  a  faith  that  went  no  lariher 
overcome  the  world  by  its  inspiring  virtue?     It  is  true 
tliat  the   S(m  of  God  is  a  scriptural   title  of  Messiah 
recotrnized  by  the  Jews  themselves  :  yet  that  it  was  not 
a  Miew  l*Jll«Jiiyill  fw  Messiah,  but  meant  more,  is  clear 
from  the  fact  tliat  the  two  terms  are  used  tojrether.     No 
one  could   lie  the  Messiah   but  the  Son  of  Gi^d ;  and 
because  he  was  the  Son  of  God  he  was  the   Messiah. 
The  Jews  condenmed  him  as  a  blasphemer,  not  because 
he  nWnifil  to  be  the  Messiah,  which,  if  the  claim  were 
false,  would  n(>t  have  been  blasphemy,  but  because  as 
the  Messiah  he  avowed  himself  to  be  the  Son  of  God. 
"  Jesus  answered  them  and  said :  My  Father  worketh 
hitherto,  and  I  work.      Therefore  the  Jews  sou.ivht  the 
more  til  kill  him,  because  he  not  only  had   broken  the 
Sabbath,  but  said,  also,  that  God  was  his  Father,  mak- 
ing himself  equal  with  God."     So,  at  his  trial  before  the 
Saidiedrim,  "  the  hi«i;h  priest  said  unto  him  :  I  adjure 
iiee  by  the  livino;  G.)d  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou 
art  the  Clirist  the  Son  of  the  living  God  ?     Jesus  saitli 
to  him,  Thou  hast  said  (or,  I  am,  see  Mark  xiv.  62.) 
.....  Then  the   high   priest  rent  his   clothes,  saying, 
He  hath  spoken  blasphemy  !     What  further  need  have 
ire  of  .witnesses  ?  "      For  this  reason  the  Jews,  after 
Pilate  had  acquitted  him,  insisted  on  his  crucifixion,  for 
said  they  :  ''  We  have  a  law,  and  by  our  law  he  ought 
III  im^  because  he  made  himself  the   Son    of  God. 
They  were  right  in  their  understanding  of  our  Lord's 


Lect.XV.]   SONSHIP  and  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.       319 

i 

assertion   of  his  sonship  to  God,  for,  if  he  were  not 
actually  the  Son  of  God,  he  had  blasphemed. 

2.  But  that  all  cavil  might  be  rebuked,  the  Scripture 
is  if  possible  more  explicit.  Thus  the  Apostle  twice  in 
one  chapter,  (eighth  of  Romans,)  calls  our  Lord,  God's 
own  Son :  "  God,  sending  his  own  Son  in  the  likeness 
of  sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh  ; " 
and  again  :  "He  that  spared  not  his  owm  Son  but  de- 
livered him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him 
also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?  "  Here,  the  force  of 
the  reasoning  depends  wholly  upon  the  peculiar  son- 
ship  of  Christ  to  God.  For  no  such  inference  could  be 
made  if  Christ  who  had  been  given  were  the  Son  of  God 
only  in  a  figurative  or  official  manner.  It  is  the  love 
of  the  Father  for  his  own  Son  which  proves  his  great, 
his  unspeakable  love  to  us,  in  sending  that  Son  under 
the  likeness  of  our  sinful  humanity  for  our  redemption  ; 
nor  can  we,  without  great  violence  against  the  obvious 
meaning  of  words,  understand  by  the  phrase  "  his  own," 
otherwise  than  that  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  in  the 
fullest  sense  in  which  one  can  be  the  son  of  his 
father. 

3.  Does  any  objector  yet  hesitate,  and  suggest  that 
"  his  own  "  may  be  nothing  more  than  a  term  of  en- 
dearment or  approbation  ?  There  is  yet  another  ex- 
pression repeatedly  employed  for  the  very  purpose  of 
declaring  that  the  sonship  is  natural,  by  which  we 
mean  that  he  is  essentially  of  the  same  nature  of  his 
Father :  "  God  .  .  .  sent  his  onli/  begotten  Son."  As, 
in  all  cases,  the  son  is  of  the  same  nature  with  his 
begetter,  so  is  the  begotten  of  God  of  the  same  essence 
as  his  divine  Father.  God  calls  his  intelliffent  crea- 
tures,  who,  as  to  some  qualities,  resemble  him  finitely, 


I 


S20      SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.   [Lect.  X1R» 

Ms  cMdren,  but  Christ  he  calls  his  only  begotten,  his 
only  Son  in  his  own  nature.     It  is  impossible  that  the 
force  of  language  can  go  farther.     This  is  the  reason- 
ing in  the  first  chapter  of  Hebrews.     The  writer  is 
establishing   the   infinite  superiority  of  Christ  to  alj 
those  by  whom  God  liad  made  any  previous  revelation 
of  his  word  ;  and,  beginning  with  the  angels,  he  asserts 
that  Christ  hath  by  inheritance,  or  by  his  sonship,  ob- 
tained a  more  excellent  name  or  dignity  than  they.    As 
a  son  derives  his  nobility  from  his  descent,  so  Christ  is 
divine  in  virtue  of  his  sonship  to  God.     "  For,"  asks 
he  "unto  which  of  the  angels  said   he  at  any  time  I 
'  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day,  have  I  begotten  thee  ? '  '* 
*t  this  day,"  meaning  after  the  Hebrew  idiom,  "  in  eter- 
nity."   Again,  "  unto  the  Son  he  saith.  Thy  throne,  O 
God,  is  forever  and  ever."      God  himself  interprets 
the  meaning  of  his  own  language,  and  styles  his  begot- 
ten Son,  God,  as  truly  God  as  himself.      How  could 
G(xi  himself  be  more  explicit  in  asserting  the  divinity 
of  Christ  ?    Yet  even  against  this  direct  testimony  from 
the  highest  of  all  witnesses,  the  sceptic  strujrcrles,  and 
would   have  us  believe   that   the   begetting   refers  to 
Christ's  miraculous  conception  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     It 
is  true  that  the  human  nature  of  Christ  was,  as  it  were, 
begotten  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  he  only  has  been 
io  begotten  ;  but  was  it  to  a  man,  though  divinely  con- 
ceived, that  the  Father  Almighty  said :  *'  Thy  throne, 
O  God,  is  forever  and  ever  ? "     Njiy,  is  it  not  clear 
that  Christ  was  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God  before 
lis  incarnation  ?     For  the  Father  sent  his  only  begot- 
ten Son  into  the  worid.     Christ  must,  therefore,  have 
existed  before  he  was  sent;  and  existed  as  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God.     Again,  in  the  first  chapter  of 


Lect.  XV.]   SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.      321 

the  Hebrews,  it  is  asserted,  that  God  made  the  worids 
by  the  Son  whom  he,  a  little  farther  on,  declares  to  be 
his  begotten ;  and  the  Evangelist  John,  in  the  preface 
to  his  Gospel,  cleariy  identifies  the  Word  which  was  "  in 
the  beginning  with  God,"  and  which  "  was  God,"  and 
by  whom  "  all  things  were  made,"  with  him  who  "  was 
made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us ;  "  whose  glory  his  dis- 
ciples beheld,  "  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father."     So,  also,  the  Saviour  in  his  prayer  before 
his  passion,  says :  "  Now,  O  Father,  glorify  thou  me 
with  thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with 
thee  before  the  worid  was."     Proofs  of  Christ's  preex- 
istence  might  be  multiplied  ;  but  these  are  enough  to 
show  that  the  title,  "  only  begotten,"  was  his,  indepen- 
dently of  his  incarnation,  and  antecedently  to  it.     But 
in  what  state  did  he  preexist  ?     Certainly  not  as  man, 
for  he  became  man  by  his  birth  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
C'  blessed  was  she  among  women  !  ")  :  not  as  an  angel 
for  It  is  proved  that  "  he  had  by  inheritance  a  more 
excellent  name  than  they."     What  else  could  the  only 
begotten  of  God  be  but  God  ?     Not  merely  divine,  but 
truly,  essentially  God ;  as  truly  and  essentially  of  the 
same  nature  as  God  the  Father,  as  the  son  of  a  man  is 
as  truly  and  essentially  a  man.    Not  God  in  some  lower 
sense  than  the  Father,  for  it  is  only  in  his  minority  that 
a  son  IS  less  than  his  father;  and  as  Deity  is  infinite, 
tlie  Son  of  God  must,  like  God  the  Father,  be  infinite  • 
and    therefore,  they  are  equal.     Is  this  reasoning  too' 
bold  /      It  is  exactly  what  the  Apostle  asserts  in  so 
many    words  :    "  Let    this    mind    be    in.  you,    which 
was    also   in    Christ   Jesus,   who,   being  in    the  form 
(the  mode  of  existence)  of  God,  thought  it  not  rob- 
bery to  be  equal  with  God,  but  made  himself  of  no 

vnr.    T  01 


VOL.  I. 


21 


822     SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.     [Lect.  XV. 

reputation,  and  took  on  him  the  form  of  a  servant." 
How  could  lie  be  God,  and  not  equal  with  God ;  if 
mfml  with  God,  infinite;  if  infinite,  equal  with  the 
Father  ?  The  begotten  is  of  the  same  nature  as  the 
begetter,  the  Son  of  God  as  God  the  Father  ;  therefore 
does  the  Church  adore  with  equal  praises  the  divine 
Father,  and  the  divine  Son  ;  the  First,  and  Second 
Persons  of  the  holy  Trinity  ;  who,  with  the  third  Per- 
son, the  Hilly  Ghost,  constitute  the  one  God  in  whom 
we  believe. 

W©  must,  however,  be  careful  to  remember  that  the 
Scripture,  In    speaking  of  God   and    of   the    relations 
between   the  Persons   of  the  Godhead,   uses  language 
framed  for  men,  and  to  express  their  relations  ;  nor  is 
]|  possible  in  such  langua<Te  to  make  known  the  infinite 
Ituths  of  God's  own  being.     Hence,  the  terms  Father, 
Son,   begetting,    or   generation    (which    is   the    Latin 
•jiionym),  are  to  be  undei-stood  in  a  sense  as  distinct 
fi-om  that  wNdl  they  Bear  when  applied  to  men,  as  the 
divine  nature  is  infinitely  above  the  human,  and  it  may 
be  true  that  theologians  have  speculated  by  inferences 
from  these  terms  to  an  unwarranted  degree  :  but  we 
.  are  certain  from  correlative  Scripture  that  they  imply 
*  H  fljljl^  natural,  essential,  though,  from  the  nature  of 
tlic  case,  by  us  incomprehensible,  relation  between  the 
first  and  second  Persons  of  the  Godhead  ;  which  im- 
plies their  equal  divinity.    Hence,  also,  we  must  believe 
llflli  as  file  nature  of  God  is  unchangeable,  the  relation 
lietweeii  the  Father  and  the  Son,  though  clearly  re- 
pealed  (as    to  its  fact)  only  in   ctmnection    with   the 
Gospel,   must  have   existed   from    all   eternity.      The 
Father  did  not  cause  the  Son  to  be ;  the  Son  did  not 
in:  liis  being  follow  the  Father,  but,  whatever  is  the 


Lect.  XV.]    SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.     323 

ineflflible  relation  which  those  words  imply,  it  has  been 
and  will  he  coeternal  with  the  existence  of  God. 

The  scope  of  the  lesson  for  to-day  is  so  great,  that 
we  have  no  opportunity  to  enter  upon  other  corrobora- 
tory  arguments  for  our  Lord's  divinity,  nor  even  to  draw 
out  the  many  practical  deductions  from  the  matter  to 
winch  we  have  confined  ourselves ;  but  we  trust  in  the 
Christian  judgment  of  those  who  have  followed  us  as 
we  reasoned  out  of  the  Scriptures,  so  far  as  to  "believe 
that  they  will  agree  with  the  orthodox  of  all  ao-es  in 
the  truth  of  Christ's  natural  and  eternal  sonship  to 
God  :  to  deny  which  is  to  deny  his  divinitv,  and  to  take 
all  value  from  his  atoning  mediation. 

Secondly  :  The  reasori  why  we  call  Jesm  Christ  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God,  our  Lord. 

'^  Because,"  says  the  Catechism,  ''  he  hath  redeemed 
us,  both  soul  and  body,  from  all  our  sins,  not  with  gold 
or  silver,  but  with  his  precious  blood,  and  hath  deliv- 
ered  us  from  all  the  power  of  the  devil,  and  thus  hath 
made  us  his  own  property." 

The  tme  and  essential  divinity  of  Christ  being  estab- 
lished by  his  sonship  to  God  the  Father,  his  divine 
authonty  over  us  follows  as  a  necessary  consequence  ; 
for  he  hath  himself  said :  "  that  all  men  should  honor 
the  Son,  even  as  they  honor  the  Father.     He  that  hon- 
oreth  not  the  Son,  honoreth  not  the  Father  which  hath 
sent  hnn."      God  is  our  Almighty,  all-wise,  infinitely 
holy  Creator.     Our  being,  with  all  its  faculties,  physical 
and  spiritual,  has  come  from   him,  from  whom  have 
come  all  things.      We,  therefore,  belong  to  him,  body, 
soul,  and  spirit, —  all   that  we  are,  all  that  we  have,  dl 
that  we  can  do ;  and  he  has  the  sole  right,  as  he  alone 
has  the  competent  knowledge,  to  command  and  direct 


i  I 


'    i 


824      SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.     [Lect.  XV. 

US  in  tlie  way  in  which  we  may  fulfil  the  end  of  our 
creation,  which  is  his  own  glory.  It  is  both  wicked- 
ness and  folly  not  to  acknowledge  and  obey  God  as  our 
rightful  owner  and  master.  Hence  the  uncommuni- 
cable  name  of  the  true  God,  which  distinguished  him 
throughout  the  Old  Testament  from  all  the  false  sods 
of  the  heathen,  was  Jehovah,  used  in  the  sense  of  Su- 
preme, which  our  translators  render  by  LORD,  printed 
in  capital  letters.  Thus  the  Psalmist :  "  For  the  Lord 
(or  Jehovah)  is  great  and  greatly  to  be  praised ;  he  is 
to  be  feared  above  all  gods.  For  all  the  gods  of  the 
nations  are  idols ;  but  the  Lord  (Jehovah)  made  the 
heavfiifc**  The  term  lorsi^  signifying  one  having  right 
and  power  to  rule,  is,  however,  applied  to  human  sov- 
ereigns, dignitaries,  and  masters,  who  exercise  dominion 
over  their  fellow-men.  Hence,  God  the  Creator  re- 
ceives homage  and  glory  from  the  Scriptures,  as  infin- 
itely supreme  over  all  such  forms  of  authority  as  may 
b©  claimed  for,  or  by  him  delegated  to  any  of  his  intel- 
ligent creatures ;  and  Christ,  as  the  Son  of  God,  the 
second  person  of  the  adorable  Godhead,  is  by  virtue 
of  his  original,  essential  divinity,  entitled  to  our  hom- 
age and  obedience  as  our  Lord,  and  Lord  of  all. 

But  there  is  a  peculiar  and  evangelical  sense  in  which 
liie  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  incarnate  as  Christ  Je- 
sus, the  anointed  Saviour,  has  become  our  Lord,  —  the 
Lord  of  all  Christians,  —  to  which  the  apostle  refers 
when  he  says  :  "  We  know  that  an  idol  is  nothing  in 
the  world,  and  that  there  is  none  other  God  but  one. 
For  though  there  be  that  are  called  gods,  whether  in 
heaven  or  in  earth  (as  there  be  gods  many  and  lords 
many),  but  to  us  there  is  but  one  God  the  Father,  of 
ifhom  are  all  things  mi  we  in  him  ;'  and  one  Lord 


Lect.  XV.]    SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.     325 


Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  by  him." 
This  is  the  Lordship  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  which  the  Cate- 
chism here  speaks,  and  concerning  which  it  is  now  our 
duty  especially  to  inquire  ;  although  it  is  included  in 
Christ's  office  of  king,  already  considered  by  us  when 
expounding  his  name,  Christ. 

I.   Tlie  source  of  Christ's  Lordship. 

It  is  not  original  but  derived.     As  the  only  begotten 
Son  of   God,  he  had  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy 
Ghost   the   supreme   authority   as    creator,    preserver, 
and  administrator  of  all  things ;  but  when,  in  execut- 
ing the  plan  of  redemption,  he  became  the  representa- 
tive and  took  the  place  of  his  people,  he  "  was  made  in 
the  likeness  of  men,"  and  so  "  took  upon  him  the  form  " 
and  condition  "  of  a  servant."      Li  so  doinor,  therefore, 
he,  so  far  as  he  was  incarnate,  laid  aside  his  glory :  he 
appeared  as  man,  as  a  servant;  and  as  a  man,  and  by 
assumption  of  human   nature,  he  was  voluntarily  but 
truly  a  servant.      Now  the  stress  of  all  evangelical,  as 
well  as  antecedent,  scripture  shows  that  upon  him  as 
the  Son  of  God  incarnate,  as  the  representative  of  men, 
the  Father,  representing  the  Godhead,  conferred  a  dele- 
gated lordship,  equal  in  all  respects  to  that  which  God 
exercises,  within  the  limits  and  for  the  purpose  desig- 
nated  by  the   plan    of  redemption.      Thus    says   the 
Psalmist,  speaking  for  God  :  "  I  have  set  my  King  on 
my  holy  hill  of  Zion ;  "  that  is,  in  the  church.     Again, 
the  angel  in  the  annunciation  :   "  Behold,  thou  shalt 
conceive  in  thy  womb  and  bring  forth  a  son,  and  shalt 
call  his  name  Jesus.     He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be 
called  the  Son  of  the  Highest ;  and  the  Lord  God  shall 
give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father  David.     And  he 
shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever ;  and  of  his 


•1 


(1 


E26      SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.    [Lect.  XV. 

kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end."  Again,  in  commission- 
ing his  disciples,  Jesus  came  and  spake  unto  them,  say- 
ing, "  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth."  Again,  in  Philippians  :  "  God  also  hath  highly 
exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  which  is  above 
every  name;  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and 
things  under  the  earth ;  and  that  every  tongue  should 
confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of  God 
the  Father."  These  are,  as  you  know,  but  a  faw  of 
the  passages  in  which  Lordship  supreme  is  conferred 
upon  Jesus  the  Emmanuel  who  was  born  of  the  Virr^in 
Mary,  crucified  under  Pontius  Pilate,  raised  from  the 
dead,  and  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  of  God. 

IL  The  object  of  this  Lordship. 

It  is  twofold :  1,  His  people,  or  church,  comprising 
all  who  believe  on  his  name  ;  2,  All  things  for  the  sake 
pf  bis  people. 

!•  His  people.  The  right  of  God  in  them  and  over 
them  is  delegated  to  Jesus  Christ.  '*  He  shall  reign 
over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever."  Again,  saith  he  in 
his  mediatorial  prayer:  "I  have  manifested  thy  name 
lliito  the  men  which  thou  gavest  me  out  of  the  world  ; 
thine  they  were,  and  thou  gavest  them  me ;  and  they 
have  kept  thy  word  :  "  and  many  other  passages  of  the 
same  import. 

2.  We  have  already  cited  proofs  that  his  power  is 
mm  all  things ;  and  the  apostle  in  Ephesians  tells  us 
fer  what  use  this  illimitable  power  is  given  :  "  That  ye 
may  know  .  .  .  what  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of 
his  power  to  usward  who  believe,  according  to  the 
working  of  his  mighty  power  which  he  wrought  in 
Clirist,  wlle^JlQ  raised  him  from  the  dead,  and  set  him 


f 


Lect.  XV.]     SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.     327 

at  his  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places,  far 
above  all  principality,  and  power,  and  might,  and  do- 
minion, and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in  this 
world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come  ;  and  hath  put 
all  things  under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be  the  head 
over  all  tilings  to  the  church,  which  is  his  body,  the 
fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all."  Li  a  word,  his 
kingdom  is  over  his  people,  and  over  all  things,  that  he 
may  secure  their  present  and  everlasting  salvation, 
which  includes  a  spiritual  rule  over  their  hearts  and 
the  administration  of  providence.  Hence,  his  king- 
dom in  this  double  sense  is  called  his  mediatorial  king- 
dom ;  and  the  apostle  speaks  of  it,  when  he  says : 
"  Giving  thanks  unto  the  Father,  which  hath  made  us 
meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in 
light ;  who  hath  delivered  us  from  the  power  of  dark- 
ness, and  hath  translated  us  into  the  kingdom  of  his 
dear  Son  ;  "  i,  e.  translated  us  into  Christ's  kingdom, 
that  we  by  his  gracious  power  be  delivered  from  the 
power  of  darkness  and  be  brought  to  a  participation  of 
the  heavenly  inheritance. 

in.  The  right  of  this  Lordsliip. 

As  it  is  not  original  but  conferred,  and  conferred  on 
Christ  incarnate  as  the  representative  of  servants,  he 
can  receive  favor  or  privilege  from  God  only  as  other 
creatures,  who  are  servants  of  God  ;  that  is,  as  a  reward 
of  righteousness.  The  justice  of  God  can  allow  it  on  no 
other  principle.  Indeed,  it  is  on  this  moral  necessity 
that  the  whole  scheme  of  salvation  by  Christ  proceeds 
-—"to  declare,"  as  the  apostle  says,  "his  (God's) 
righteousness,  that  he  might  be  just,  and  the  justified 
of  him  which  believeth  in  Jesus."  The  rishteousness 
required,  therefore,  is  such  a  righteousness  as  is  needed 


I 


t    - 


328      SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.     [Lect.  XV. 

by  those  whom  Christ  represents,  which  is  twofold :  ex- 
piation of  sin,  and  a  meritorious  obedience,  both  of 
which  Christ  offered  unto  God :  the  expiation  in  his 
death,  the  meritorious  obedience  in  his  honoring  of  the 
Jaw  by  his  whole  life.      Because  of  this  perfect  right- 
eousness which,  through  tlie  union  of  the  divine  na- 
ture with  the  human  in  which  it  was  offered,  is  of  in- 
finite merit,  the  Father  bestows  the  mediatorial  king- 
dom or  Lordship  on  Christ.      "  Being  found  in  fashio^Ii 
as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself  and  became  obedient 
unto  (until)   death ;  wherefore  God  also  hath  highly 
exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  which  is  above 
every   name,"    &c.      Again :    "  Who   (Jesus    Christ) 
gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,   and    purify    unto   himself  a  peculiar  people 
(t.  e,  a  people  belonging  unto  himself),  zealous  of  good 
•irks."     Again  :  "  The  righteousness  of  God  which  is 
If  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  unto  all  and  upon  all  them 
that  believe,  .  .  .  being  justified  freely  by  his  grace, 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus."  Christ 
has  thus  purchased  for  his  own  all  that  believe,  and 
tiiey  bear  his  name  stamped,  as  it  were,  upon  them  in 
token  of  their  being  secure  in  him  of  everlasting  life. 
"  In  whom  also,"  says  the  apostle,  "  after  that  ye  be- 
lieved, ye  were  sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise, 
which  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance  until  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  purchased  possession,  thdt  we  should  be  to 
the  praise  of  his  glory."      Hence,  throughout  the  New 
Testament,  the  title  Lord  is  given  onlv  and  emphati- 
cally to.  Jesus  Christ ;  the  Holy  Ghost  thus  showing  us, 
that  now  all  the  divine  government  in  all  things'  re- 
specting the  church  is  committed  to  him  alone.  Is  the 
imlj  mediator  between  God  and  man. 


Lkct.XV.]   SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.       329 

Thus  you  have  confirmed  out  of  Scripture  the  doc- 
tnne  of  the  Catechism,  as  to  the  reason  whv  all  true 
Christians  call  Jesus  Christ  "  our  Lord  " :  «  Because 
he  hath  redeemed  us,  both  soul  and  body,  from  all  our 
sins,  not  with  gold  or  silver,  but  with  his  precious 
blood,  and  hath  delivered  us  from  all  the  power  of  the 
devil,  and  thus  hath  made  us  his  own  property." 

INFERENCES. 

I'irst :  The  safety  of  all  who  believe  in  Christ 
The  Son  of  God  is  their  king.  Incarnate  as  our 
elder  brother,  we  know  that  he  has  a  sympathy  for 
us ;  appomted  and  accepted  as  our  Redeemer,  we  know 
that  he  has  a  right  to  save  us ;  bringing  to  his  ofHce  all 
the  power  and  authority  of  his  divine  nature,  we  know 
that  he  IS  able  to  save  us.  Were  he  not  man,  we  might 
doubt  his  wilhngness ;  were  he  not  God,  we  mi^ht 
doubt  his  ability ;  but  when  we  see  in  him  God  a"nd 
man,  we  may  trust  him  while  we  adore. 

Secondly/  ;  The  duty  of  all  who  believe  in  Christ 

To  serve  him  as  we  would  serve  God,  who  has  given 

us  to  him  ;  to  avow  openly  our  allegiance  to  him  before 

the  world,  and  to  build  up  his  kingdom  as  the  divinely 

ordamed  method  of  glorifying  God  in  the  redemption 


.„• ;•  :    .(       VI',  ,|l  :':' 


LECTURE  XVI. 


THE   INCAKNATION. 


t    rt 


•      f! 


FOURTEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE    INCARNATION. 

Quest.  XXXV.  What  is  the  meaning  of  these  words:  "  He  was  conceived 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  f  " 

Ans.  That  God's  eternal  Son,  who  is  and  continueth  true  and  eternal  God, 
took  upon  him  the  very  nature  of  man,  out  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  that  he  might 
also  be  the  true  seed  of  David,  like  unto  his  brethren  in  all  things,  sin 
excepted. 

(iUEST.  XXXVI.  What  profit  dost  thou  receive  by  Christ's  holy  conception 
and  nativity  f 

Ak8.  That  he  is  our  Mediator;  and  with  his  innocence  and  perfect  holiness 
covers  in  the  sight  of  God  my  sins,  wherein  I  was  conceived  and 
brought  forth. 

TTAVING  demonstrated  the  true  and  essential  divin- 
ity of  Jesus  Christ,  from  the  express  declaration 
of  Scripture  that  he  is  "  the  only  begotten  Son ''  of 
God ;  and,  also,  his  right  to  be  honored  by  us  as  our 
Lord,  in  consequence  of  the  delegated  authority  he  has 
received  from  the  Father  to  be  Lord  or  head  of  the 
Church,  and  Lord  or  head  over  all  things  for  the  sake 
of  the  Cliurch  ;  we  now  come  to  inquire  how  it  is  that 
we  offer  this  divine  homage  and  render  this  entire  obe- 
dience to  one  who  is  presented  before  our  faith  in  the 
form  and  substance  of  a  man  like  ourselves :  which 
leads  us  to  consider  the  great  mystery  of 

The  Incarnation, 
or  the  taking  of  human  nature  upon  himself  by  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God,  or,  as  the  Evangelist  John 


I 


834 


THE  INCARNATION. 


[Lect.  XVI. 


Lect.  XVI.] 


THE  INCARNATION. 


335 


expresses  it,  his  "  being  made  flesh,"  or,  as  the  apostle 
Paul  states  it,  his  being  "  sent  forth,  made  of  a  woman." 
This  incarnation  was  necessary  for  the  fulfilment  of 
all  prophecy,  from  the  first  promise  that  "  the  seed  of 
the  woman  should  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent,"  to 
the  declaration  of  the  last  of  the  Old  Testament  writ- 
era,  that  "  the  Xorc?,"  the  object  of  all  godly  faith  and 
desire,  a«  "the  messenger  of  the  covenant,"  would  i)er- 
sonally  "  come  into  his  temple."  It  is  necessary  to  the 
truth  of  all  the  evangelical  Scriptures,  which  set  forth 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  the  Saviour  in  whom  we  are  to 
trust,  and  describe  him  w^th  the  peifections  of  eternal 
Qod.     Hence  the  Otnrch  Catholic  requires  each  of  her 

members  to  say :  '*  I  believe in  Jesus  Christ, 

his  (God's)  only  begotten  Son,  our  Lord,  who  was  con- 
ceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  horn  of  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  "  — 
which  is  a  declaration  of  our  faith  respecting  the  con- 
ilittllifili  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  person  after  such  a 
manner  that  he  was  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  Our 
lesson  to-day  expounds  the  meaning  of  these  words,  and 
lias  two  parts :  The  first  asserting  the  fact  of  the  in- 
carnation (35th  Question  and  Answer) ;  the  second 
showing  the  reasons  for  the  incarnation  (36th  Ques- 
tion and  Answer)  ;  both  of  which  we  shall  handle 
as  succinctly  as  the  importance  of  the  subject  will 
allow. 

First  :  The  fact  of  the  Incarnation, 

"  God's  eternal  Son,  who  is  and  continueth  true  and 
eternal  God,  took  upon  him  the  very  nature  of  man,  out 
of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  by  the  ope- 
ration of  the  Holy  Ghost :  that  he  might  also  be  the 
true  seed  of  Davi4  like  unto  his  brethren  in  all  things, 
sin  excepted." 


We  derive  our  knowledge  of  the  incarnation  only 
from  the  word  of  God,  who  alone  could  reveal  it ;  and 
we  believe  the  great  truth  which  it  contains  solely  on 
divine   testimony.       The   Scriptures  which   recite  the 
glorious  mystery,  are  so  familiar   to  us,  and  so  very 
many,  that  we  need  not  quote  them  at  full  length  ;  but 
may  take  out  of  them  the  principal  particulars  referred 
to  by  the  Catechism  in  the  place  before  us :  and  these 
we  shall  arrange  under  three  propositions  concerning 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :    I.  He  is  truly  man.     IL  He 
is  truly  God.     IH.  He  is  both  God  and  man  in  one. 
We  say  is,  not  was;  for  what  our  Lord  became  at  his 
incarnation,  he  is  now  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  and 
will  continue  to  be  forever. 
I.  He  is  truly  man. 

A  man  is  compounded  of  a  substantial  body  having 
certain  physical  qualities  and  faculties,  and  of  a  spiritual 
soul  having  will,  understanding,  and  affections.  So 
did  our  Lord  become  man. 

1.  As  to  his  body.  It  was  svhstantial  —  wot  a  mere 
phantom  or  appearance  of  a  body,  but  having  all  the 
qualities  which  distinguish  substance  from  spirit.  ''Han- 
dle me  and  see,"  said  he  to  his  disciples  after  his  resur- 
rection ;  "  for  a  spirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bones  as  ye  see 
me  (or  perceive  me  to)  have." 

It  was  a  human  body.  Flesh  is  a  term  used  generally 
for  the  substantial  part  of  man.  "  The  word  becania 
flesh,''  says  the  Evangelist ;  "  Forasmuch  as  the  chil- 
dren were  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself 
took  part  of  the  same."  His  glorified  body  has  under- 
gone that  change  which  the  apostle  describes,  when, 
in  the  xv.  of  1  Corinthians,  he  speaks  of  the  body 
which  the  believer  will  have  after  the  resurrection  ;  but 


336 


JHE  INCARNATION. 


[Lect.  XVI. 


t( 


his  body,  while  he  was  on  earth,  was  as  truly  human  as 
ours  are,  and,  if  we  be  his  people,  ours  will  be  glorified 
as  his  is  now.  "  He,"  says  the  apostle  in  Philippians, 
"  shall  change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned 
like  unto  his  glorious  body ;"  which  could  not  be,  if  his 
body  had  not  been  first  like  ours.  There  was  purity 
in  our  Saviour's  body  from  the  holy  manner  of  its  ori- 
gin and  his  constitutional  sinlessness,  but,  whether  on 
earth  fm  in  heaven,  it  had  and  has  all  necessary  human 
characteristics. 

He  was  "  bom  of  a  woman ; "  "  the  seed  of  the 
woman,"  according  to  the  first  promise  ;  "made  of  a 
woman,"  as  the  apostle  has  it ;  "  conceived  in  her," 
tlie  angel  told  Joseph  ;  carried  in  her  womb  until 
the  days  were  accomplished  that  she  should  be  deliv- 
ered." The  generative  cause  of  the  conception  was 
miraculous  from  a  divine  energy  :  "  conceived  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  says  the  Creed,  or,  more  properly  ren- 
dered,/row  the  Holy  Ghost ;  "  by  the  operation  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  "  our  Catechism  explains  it.  "  The  Holy 
Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the 
Highest  shall  overshadow  thee:  therefore,  also,  that  holy 
thing  (creature)  which  shall  be  born  of  thee,  shall  be 
called  the  Son  of  God,"  is  the  declaration  of  the  angel. 
The  blessed  Mary  was  a  virgin  ;  but  all  that  a  woman 
is  to  a  child  of  which  she  is  the  mother,  she  was  to  our 
Lord's  humanity;  —  not  to  his  divine  nature,  for  the 
Papists  talk  blasphemously  when  they  call  her  the 
mother  of  God.  The  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
Ibreefold :  in  sanctifying  the  body  of  the  Virgin  for 
the  purpose  of  our  Lord's  becoming  flesh  through  her ; 
in  causing  the  conception,  and  in  sanctifying  the  child : 
hence^  the  purity  and  sinlessness  of  our  Lord's  human- 


Lect.  XVI.] 


THE  INCARNATION. 


337 


ity,  for  he  was  not  conceived  in  sin  and  brouo-ht  forth 
in  niiqn^ry,  as  we  are  ;  hence,  also,  his  freedom  from 
t!ie  nioial  connection  which  all  others  born  of  woman 
have  with  the  first  Adam's  apostasy.  But  in  all  other 
respects,  Christ  derived  his  body  as  we  have  derived 
oui^. 

The  papists  have  many  idle  and  preposterous  fables 
about  the  mcamation  ;  and  a  little  while  ago  a  council 
of  their  bishops  met  to  determine  that  the  Virgin  Mary 
herself  was  conceived  without  sin,  which  would  seem 
also  to  require  that  her  mother  was  as  immaculately 
born,  and  so  backward  to  the  first  mother  :  but  the 
scriptural  doctrine  is,  that  the  sanctification  of  Mary  for 
her  maternal  office  was  at  the  time  of  her  conception 
from  the  Holy  Ghost.     We  reject  with  horror  all  the 
profane   inventions   of  a    miserable   idolatry,    but   we 
should  receive  with  adoring  faith  all  that  "the  divine 
word  teaches  of  the  manner  in  which  Jesus  Christ  is 
truly  human  ;  and  how  nobly  does  the  sacred  narrative 
exalt  the  d.aracter  of  maternity  above  the  disgraces  of 
the  fall !  How  absurd  are  the  honors  which  the  papists, 
mitaing  Gnostic  follies,  would  throw  around  a  celibate 
state       If  God  chose  a  virgin  to  exalt  her,  the  exalta- 
Uon  he  conferred  was  making  her  a  mother  !     It  could 
be  the  privilege  of  but  one  woman  to  bear  our  Elder 
Brother ;  yet  blessed  are  all  those  women  whose  mater- 
nal faith  consecrates  their  offspring  to  be  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  Lord  Almighty,  immortal  heir,  of  his 
heavenly  kingdom  ! 

2.  Our  Lord  derived  his  human  soul  in  the  same 
manner  (mysterious  beyond  all  guess  at  explanation) 
that  every  man  derives  his  soul  with  his  body.  All 
furtW  question  is  idle,  for  it  would  be  piyfng  into 


m 


338 


THE  INCARNATION. 


[Lkct.  XVI. 


Lkct.  XVI.] 


THE  INCARNATION. 


339 


i 


what  God  has  not  revealed.  But  it  were  grave  heresy 
to  suppose  that  our  Lord  liad  not  a  human  soul  as  truly 
as  he  had  a  human  body ;  for  without  either  he  would 
not  have  been  man.  He  needed  to  be  made  like  unto 
his  brethren  in  all  things,  "  that  he  might  be  a  merciful 
and  faithful  high  priest,  in  things  pertaining  to  God." 

3.  The  history  of  our  Lord  after  his  birth  confirms 
the  truth  of  his  full  humanity.  He  was  nourished  as  a 
babe  at  the  breast.  He  increased  in  stature,  from  the 
weakness  that  needed  the  swaddling  bands,  and  the 
support  of  his  mother's  arms.  He  went  up  as  a  Jewish 
lad  when  twelve  years  old  to  keep  the  Passover  at  Je- 
rusalem, and  afterwards  passed  through  youth  to  the 
adult  stature  of  man.  He  saw,  he  heard,  he  felt,  he 
spake,  he  walked.  He  hungered,  and  eat;  he  was 
thii-sty,  and  drank.  He  was  weary,  and  he  rested. 
When  night  came,  he  slept;  and  (oh,  blessed  proof 
of  human  sympathy  !)  he  wept.  He  suffered  extreme 
agony,  sweating  "  great  drops  of  blood,"  and,  wrung 
with  mortal  anguish  upon  the  cross  to  which  his  blessed 
hands  were  nailed  and  his  feet  bound,  his  meek  brow 
bleeding  under  the  thorns,  his  dear  side  pierced  to  his 
heart  by  the  cursed  spear,  he  died,  breathing  out  his 
soul,  was  laid  in  a  tomb,  and  the  spices  were  prepared 
for  his  embalmment. 

He  thought  as  a  man.  He  was  taught  and  grew 
"  in  wisdom  "  and  "  in  favor  with  God  and  man."  He 
performed  the  moral  duties  of  a  man  ;  witness,  his  obe- 
dience to  his  mother  and  to  Joseph  her  husband,  to  the 
Jewish  authorities,  to  Caesar,  and  to  God.  He  loved 
as  a  son,  and  as  a  friend,  and  as  a  patriot.  He  was 
full  of  human  sympathies ;  pitying  the  poor,  the  dis- 
eased, and  the  sorrowful.     He  took  little  children  up  in 


his  arms  ;  he  was  grateful  for  friendly  kindness,  and  at 
the  grave  of  his  friend  he  groaned  in  spirit,  being 
troubled.  He  prayed  "  with  strong  crying  and  tears." 
He  devoted  liimself  with  most  intelligent  and  hearty 
zeal  to  do  the  will  of  his  Father.  He  *'  learned  obedi- 
ence by  the  things  which  he  suffered."  "  For  we  have 
not  an  high  priest  which  cannot  be  touched  with  the 
feeling  of  our  infirmities  ;  but  was  in  all  points  tempted 
hke  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin." 

Yes  !  he  was  pure.  The  seed  of  the  woman,  con- ' 
ceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  fell  not  in  Adam.  Bom 
of  a  woman,  yet  begotten  of  God,  he  was  our  fellow- 
man  but  not  our  fellow-sinner.  Sanctified  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  from  the  womb,  "  he  did  no  sin,  neither  was 
guile  found  in  his  mouth,"  but  he  was  "  holy,  harmless, 
undefiled,  and  separate  from  sinners."  His  holy  soul 
ruled  the  infirmities  of  his  body,  and  he  was  "  as  a 
lamb  without  blemish,  and  without  spot." 

Thus  was  he  truly  man:  "  the  son  of  man,"  "the  seed 
of  David  ;  "  "  the  man  Christ  Jesus  ;  "  "  the  man  ap- 
proved of  God ;  "  "  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained," 
"the  second  Adam."  The  perfect  humanity  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  an  essential  article  of  the  Christian  creed  ;  for 
our  Lord  himself  hath  said  :  "  Except  ye  eat  my  flesh 
and  drink  my  blood  "  (i.  e.  receive  the  doctrines  of  my 
incarnation  and  atonement),  '^  ye  have  no  life  in  you." 

II.  He  is  truly  God. 

This  we  have  already  sufficiently  proved  in  our  ex- 
position of  several  sections,  but  especially  the  last,  when 
we  showed  that  the  Son  whom  God  the  Father  sent 
into  the  worid  to  be  made  of  a  woman,  is  the  only  begot- 
ten Son  of  God ;  by  which  phrase  we  can  understand 
nothing  else  than  that  he  is  truly  and  essentially  of  the 


i  1 1 


JU.LJ-  l"l 


THE  INCARNATION. 


[Lect.  XVI. 


same  nature  as  his  Father.     The  same  "  Word  '*  which 
was  God  in  the  beginning,  "  became  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  us,"  says  the  Evangelist ;  "  and  we  beheld  his 
glory r  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father^ 
full  of  grace  and  truth."     If,  therefore,  he  was   God 
before  his  incarnation,  he  must  continue  to  be  God  after 
liis  incarnation;  that  is,  God  is  essentially  eternal,  and 
the  only  begotten  Son  of  God  must  be  God  from  ever- 
lasting'to  everlasting.      Thus  the  Evangelist  applies  to 
the  incarnation  the  very  distinct  prophecy  of  Isaiah : 
•*  Behold,  a  virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and  shall  bring 
forth  a  son,  and  they  shall  call  his  name  Emmanuel, 
which,  being  interpreted,  is,  God  with  us."     So  St. 
Paul  also  :  "  Who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  .  .  .  took 
upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant  and  was  made  in  the 
Hkeness  of  men."      So  the  apostle  again  :  "  Great  is 
the  mystery  of  godliness :  God  manifest  in  the  flesh.'* 
So  also  the  Catechism :  "  God's  eternal  Son,  who  is 
and  continueth  true  and  eternal  God,  took  upon  him 
the  very  nature  of  man."     We  may  then  pass  on  to 
our  remaining  proposition :  — 

III.     He  is  God  and  man  in  one  person. 
God  the  Son  dwelt  in  the  man  Christ  Jesus.      The 
Word  became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us ;  or,  more  lit- 
erally, tabernacled  among  us.     He  took  the  humanity, 
80  miraculously  prepared,  for  a  tent,  a  habitation,  a 
covering  under  which  he  humbled  himself,  radiating 
his  divfne  glory  through  it  as  the  mediator  between 
God  and  man.     The  writer  to  the  Hebrews  calls  it  the 
vail  of  his  divinity :  "  The  rent  vail,  that  is  to  say,  his 
flesh."     "  For  in  him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the 
Godhead  bodily."     He  entered   the  flesh  within   the 
Vircrin  Mary,  for  the  "  holy  thing  which  was  born  of 


1 


/« 


Lect.  XVI.] 


THE  INCARNATION. 


341 


her  is  called  the  Son  of  God."  Nor  was  this  dwellincr 
only  in  his  body,  but  in  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  soul  and 
body;  in  the  mind,  the  affections,  and  the  will  of  the 
holy  man,  using  the  spiritual  as  well  as  the  physical 
faculties  of  the  humanity:  for  the  human  obedience, 
active  and  passive,  which  he  came  in  the  flesh  to  ren- 
der acceptable,  because  infinitely  meritorious,  was  of 
the  soul  as  well  as  of  the  body. 

But  it  was  more  than  a  mere  indwellinor,  such  as  that 
9f  the  Holy  Ghost  in  every  believer.     *'  The  Word  was 
made  fli'sh."      The  passive  verb  is  there  used  to  indi- 
cate the  concurrent  action  of  the  Father,  who  sent  his 
only  begotten,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  overshad- 
owed  the  Virgin   with  the  third  person  of  the  ever- 
blessed  Trinity  (Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son, 
and  to  the  Holy  Ghost !),  and  of  the  Son,  who,  of  his  own 
personal  will  and  by  his  own  personal  act,  came  into  the 
world  as  the  seed  of  the  woman.     "  He  took  upon  him 
the  form  of  a  servant."     "  Forasmuch  as  the  children 
are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself  like- 
wise took  part  of  the  same,"  i.  e,  ])articipated  in  our 
human  nature.      Here,  in  the  word  took,  we  have  the 
nearest  approach  we  can  have  to  an  explanation  of  the 
manner  after  which  the  divine  and  human  natures  of 
our  Lord  were  united.      He  took  the  human  nature  to 
his  own  divine  nature.     The  human  nature— body  and 
soul --in  all  its  ])arts,  qualities,  faculties,  and  functions, 
physical  and  spiritual,  became  his,  his  own  ;  not  in  es- 
sence but  in  relation,  by  assumption  and  adjunction. 
Hence,  the   pains  of  the   man,   his  sorrows,  his  very 
death,  became,  as  the  language  of  many  scriptures  as- 
serts, the  pains,  the  sorrows  and  death  of  our  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ.     He  is  truly  man  as  he  is  truly  God.      His 


T 


.!( 


THE  INCARNATION. 


[Lect.  XVL 


divinity  was  not  transformed  into  humanity ;  he  is  still 
God.  The  humanity  was  not  transformed  into  divinity : 
he  is  still  man.  The  divinity  was  not  commixt  with 
the  humanity,  nor  the  humanity  with  the  divinity,  else 
he  would  be  neither  God  nor  man.  He  is  both  God 
and  man.  The  divinity  was  not  made  less,  for  infinite- 
ness  is  essential  to  it ;  the  humanity  is  not  made  more, 
for  finiteness  is  essential  to  it.  He  is  entitled  to  all  the 
divine  attributes  while  he  disowns  nothing  that  is  hu- 
man except  sin.  He  is  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God, 
Jtl  our  brother.  The  human  nature  is  adjoined  to  the 
(Kvine.  He  is  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  incarnate 
God,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh  ;  Emmanuel,  God  with 
Bs.  God,  yet  man  ;  man,  yet  God :  the  God  distinct 
from  the  man ;  the  man  distinct  from  the  God :  else 
God  would  have  been  a  sufferer,  or  the  works  of  the 
man  been  finite  in  merit.  Yet,  we  repeat,  the  human- 
ity is  so  united  to  the  divinity  that  he  is  one  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  This  perfect  union  is  described  by  theologians, 
for  want  of  a  better  term,  as  in  one  person  ;  that  is, 
one  individual.  The  divinity  so  pervades,  sanctifies, 
and  renders  meritorious  the  nature,  obedience,  and  suf- 
ferings of  the  man,  that  the  Father  accepts  them  and 
we  rely  upon  them  as  the  one  infinitely  worthy  atone- 
ment of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Objections  have  been 
made  by  those  who  deny  our  Lord's  personal  divinity, 
to  this  use  of  the  word  person,  and,  did  we  use  it  in  its 
trtlinaiy  sense,  the  objection  would  be  plausible ;  but  the 
singular,  anomalous  nature  of  the  case  warrants  us  in 
using  a  term,  when  we  have  no  other,  according  to  our 
definition  of  it :  which  is  that  oneness  that  constitutes 
the  two  natures  of  Christ,  as  one  agent  or  representa- 
tiye  for  us  with  the  Father. 


Lkct.  XVI.] 


THE  INCARNATION. 


343 


Other  questions  which  may  be  here  suggested  have 
been  treated,  or  will  be  elsewhere,  in  our  expositions  of 
the  Catechism ;  and  we  wish  to  add  only  that  it  is  im- 
portant  for   our   understanding   of  the   true    cathoHc 
doctrine  to  remember  the  precise  conditions  which  have 
been  specified.     Thus  Hooker,  whom  theologians  wor- 
thily call  the  judicious,  says  that  "  in  four  words  we 
may  fully,  by  way  of  abridgment,  comprise  whatsoever 
antiquity  hath  at  large  handled  "  respecting  the  person 
of  our  Lord,  "  either  in  declaration  of  Christian  belief, 
or  in  refutation  of  heresies,  viz :   trulv,  perfectly,  in- 
divisibly,  distinctly.     Truly,  as  to  his  being  God  \  per- 
fectly, as  to  his  being  man  ;  indivisibly,  as  toliis  being  of 
both  one  ;   distinctly,  as  to  his  continuing  both  in  That 
one."      Indeed,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  first  four 
and  greatest  councils  of  the  church  were  called  to  de- 
fine and  establish  the  catholic  doctrine  on  these  several 
points  :  the  Council  of  Nice,  to  condemn  the  Arians, 
who  denied  the  proper  divinity  of  Christ ;  the  (first) 
Council  of  Constantinople,  to  condemn  the  Apolinari- 
ans,  who  attacked  the  proper  humanity  of  Christ ;  the 
Council  of  Ephesus,  to  condemn  the  Nestorians,  whose 
leader,  Nestorius,  was  wrongfully  charged  with  assert- 
ing that  there  were  two  persons  in   Christ;    and  the 
Council  of  Chalcedon,  to  condemn  the  Eutychians,  who 
confounded  the  two  natures  of  Clirist.     All  these  here- 
sies are  full   of  mischiefs,  and,  therefore,  our  pastors 
should   imitate    the   ancient   church   in   guarding   the 
people  against  them. 

Secondly  :  The  reasons  for  the  Incarnation. 
Quest.  36.      What  profit  dost  thou  receive  by  Christ' a 
holy  conception  and  nativity  ? 

Ans.    That  he  is  our  Mediator,  and  with  his  inno- 


il. 


344 


THE  INCARNATION. 


[Lect.  XVI. 


cence  ami  perfect  lioliness  covers  in  the  sight  of  God 
my  sins,  in  which  1  was  conceived  and  hronght  forth. 

These  heads  of  doctrine  have  been  ah^eady  treated  of 
in  our  lecture  on  the  lesson  for  the  Sixth  Lord's  Day, 
but  a  brief  review  of  them  may  not  be  unprofitable. 
Tlie  incarnation  was  necessary, 
I.  To  establish  an  intercourse  between  God  and  man. 
The  sinner  emii*inced  of  his  guilt  would  not  dare  to 
approach    God,    whom   he   had   offended,    and   whose 
wrath   he  knows  himself  to  have  incurred.      Whence 
we  find  those  of  God's  servants  to  whom  he  had  mani- 
fested himself,  trembling  with  fear,  and  becoming  as 
dead  men.     Tits  the  difficulty  which  Job  felt  when  he 
exclaimed  :  "  If  I  wash  myself  with  snow-water,  and 
make  my  hands  never  m  clean,  yet  shalt  thou  plunge 
me  in  the  ditch,  and  mine  own  clothes  shall  abhor  me  ; 
for  he  it  not  a  man  as  I  am,  that  I  should  answer  him, 
and  we  ilimilil  ipMli  together  in  judgment.      Neither 
m  there  any  daysman   betwixt  us,  that  might  lay  his 
hand  u})on  us  both.      Let  him  take  away  his  rod  from 
me,  and  let  not  his  fear  terrify  me :  then  would  I  speak 
and  not  fear  him;  but  it  is  not  so  with  me."     The 
proj)osition  of  a  i-econcilement  must,  therefore,  come 
from  God  to  man.     On  the  other  hand,  God  in  his 
holiness  cannot  approach  the  sinner  and  not  destroy 
him.     "  Thou  art  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil, 
ancl   ctilil  not   look  upon  iniquity,"   says  Habakkuk. 
Tliere  must,  therefore,  be  an  intervention  of  some  pure 
medium  between  holy  God  and  siiiful  man  ;  one  equal 
with  God,  yet  equal  with  man,  who  may  put  his  handk 
upon  both  ;  and  that  Mediator  is  found  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  Christ  as  Emmanuel,  God-man.      In  him  we 
behold  God jmittjd  |o  limmmity,  but  a  humanity  sinless ; 


Lect.  XVI.] 


THE  INCARNATION. 


345 


humanity  united  to  God,  but  to  God  in  loving-kindness 
and  tender  mercy.     God  looks  well  pleased  on  man 
represented  by  his  incarnate  only  begotten ;  man  looks 
with  penitent  confidence  on  God  represented  to  him  by 
his  elder  brother.     As  God,  the  blessed  Christ  enters 
into  the  wisdom  of  God  and  is  his  Counsellor ;  as  man. 
he  assures  the  believer  of  his  kindred  and  is  his  Re^ 
deemer.     Christ  for  us  hath  by  his  atoning  merit  taken 
away  the  rod  of  his  Father's  wrath;  and  now,  havincr 
passed  into  the  heavens  for  us,  his  flesh  once  torn  on 
the  cross  becomes  a  new  and  living  way  which  he  has 
consecrated  for  us,  by  which  we  have  access  with  bold- 
ness unto  God,  even  on  his  throne.     Christ  is  the  real- 
ity of  that  ladder  which  Jacob  saw,  whose  top  rested 
on  heaven  while  it  was  set  on  earth,  by  which  our 
prayers  ascend  to  God,  and  the  blessings  of  God  de- 
scend to  us. 

II.  To  make  a  sufficient  ground  of  our  reconciliation 
w^ith  God. 

Whatever  be  the  merciful  purpose  of  God  towards 
the  sinner,  he  must  be  just;  and  God,  not  layincr  aside 
his  justice,  yet  bent  uj)on  mercy,  provides  a  method  by 
which  his  violated  law  is  magnified,  yet  his  grace  vin- 
dicated from  reproach  ;  and  that  method  is  the  substi- 
tution  of  the  Emmanuel  to  expiate  our  guilt  and  pro- 
vide a  righteousness  on  the  credit  of  which  we  may  be 
rewarded.     "  He  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us  who  knew 
no  sm,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God 
in  him."  It  was  necessary  that  this  substitute  should  be 
divnie,  for  every  creature  is  himself  subject  to  God, 
and  requires  all  his  powers  to  discharge  his  own  duty. 
It  was  necessary  that  he  should  be  in  the  form  of  a  ser- 
vant, for  God  himself  cannot  be  under  Jiis  own  law. 


THE  INCARNATION. 


[Lect.  XVI. 


Lect.  XVI.] 


THE  INCARNATION. 


I 


It  was  necessary  that  he  should  be  a  man,  because  man 
was  the  sinner  to  be  redeemed ;  that  he  should  magnify 
the  law  given  to  man,  because  that  was  the  law  which 
had  been  dishonored  ;  that  the  law  should  be  magnified 
on  earth,  because  it  was  given  to  rule  man  in  this  life. 
It  was  necessary  that  the  penalty  of  the  law  should  be 
endured  in  the  nature  of  man,  and  in  the  sphere  of  his 
rebellion,  because  here  the  curse  had  passed  upon  hu- 
man nature.      But  it  was   necessary  that  an  infinite 
merit  should  be  communicated  to  the  obedience  and 
sufferings  of  the  substitute  in  human  nature ;  and  so 
the  divinity  in  the  humanity  pervaded  the  actions  of 
Christ,  honoring  the  law  infinitely  more  than  the  obe- 
dience or  eternal  punishment  of  a  whole  world. 
III.  To  sustain  man  in  his  weakness. 
With  the  wrath  of  God  have  come  on  man  a  thou- 
sand woes.      The  natural,  as  well  as  the  penal,  conse- 
quence of  sin,  is  death,  with  all  its  precursive  evils  and 
all  its  following  torment     Bitter  is  the  cup  which  time 
presses  on  every  human  life.      Without  some  strong 
sustaining  power  man  would  sink  under  his  calamities. 
The   child  of   God,  even  while  he  looks  forward  to 
heaven,  is  not  relieved  from  his   pains   and  sorrows. 
Still  the  body  of  sin  and  death  is  around  his  spirit. 
Still  he  lives  in  a  fallen,  faded,  polluted,  and  hostile 
world.      Still  he  must  meet  the  malice  of  the  Satanic 
tempter  and  the  contradiction  of  sinners.      Grace  has, 
hideed,  made  a  blessed  change.      Afflictions  are  to  him 
no  lont^er  evidence  of  divine  wrath,  but  proofs  of  a 
father's  care  to  chasten  him  for  heaven.      Yet  he  must 
be  assured  of  this  blessing  and  be  upheld,  for  his  flesh 
is  ^eak,  though  his  spirit  be  willing.    And  this  is  given 
in  the  person  and  sorrows  of  Christ,  who  was  tried 


347 


with  all  our  temptations,  whose  heart  bled  in  all  our 
griefs,  who  shuddered  under  the  deep  shadows  of  his 
leather  s  wrath,  and  poured  out  his  soul  amidst  the  an- 
guish of  a  cruel  death.      He  himself  learned  obedience 
by  the  tilings  that  he  suffered ;  and  now  on  the  throne 
of  Ins  glory,  he  knows  how  to  succor  them  that  are 
tempted  ;  and,  while  he  assures  the  believer  of  his  hu- 
man sympathy,  he  assures  him  also  of  the  same  divine 
strength  that  sustained  him  under  the  griefs  and  diffi- 
culties  that  we  are  passing  through.     With  what  strona 
consolation  is  the  Christian  met  as  he  flies  for  refnc^e  to 
the  hope  set  before  him,  and  sees  the  great  sufFerel-  on 
the  nght  hand  of  God;  the  crown  of  universal  glory 
on  the  brow  yet  scarred  with  thorns,  and  the  hand 
pierced  by  the  nail  holding  forth  to  him  the  sceptre,  that 
he  may  touch  it  and  live  forever.     Looking  unto  Jesus, 
the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  who,  for  the  iov 
that  was  set  before  him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame  he  lays  aside  every  weight  and  the  sin  that  so 
easily  besets  him,  and  runs  with  patience  the  race  set 
before   him.      Nothing  short  of  this  can  sustain  and 
cheer  and  make  us  victorious.     Oh,  the  life  of  my  life 
will  go  out  unless  I  can  see  my  nature  in  him  sustained 
by  the  divine  strength  I  need ;  unless  I  can  see  the^ame 
Hand  that  wipes  away  my  tears  wiping  away  his  own  ; 
unless  I  can  trace  his  footsteps  down  into  the  dark  val- 
ley and  know,  however  painful  my  path  may  be,  that 
he  has  trodden  it  before  me,  and  now  waits  to  wel- 
come me  to  his  joy  when  I  have  drunk  the  cup  which 
ne  drank  for  me. 

IV.  To  elevate  our  fallen  nature. 
"  We  are  all  by  nature  the  children  of  wrath."  Cavil 
at  it,  modify  it  as  men  will,  there  is  no  getting  over  the 


B48 


THE  INCARNATION. 


[Lect.  XVI. 


Lect.  XVI.] 


THE  INCARNATION. 


349 


fact  that  in  Adam  our  nature  was  cast  down  from  its 
pristine  dignity  to   shame   and  dust.      "  By  man  sin 
entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin."      By  man 
must  that  nature  be  raised  from  tlie  dust,  and  its  dignity 
restored.      The  second  Adam  must   repair   the    ruins 
of  the  first,  and,  in  the  Son  of  Man,  the  Lord  from 
heaven,  we  see  all  that  we  have  lost  more  than  restored 
and  secured  to  us  by  a  covenant  never  to  be  broken  be- 
cause its  surety  cannot  fiiil ;  nay,  which  has  already  ful- 
filled all  its  conditions.      By  man  we  lost  the  image  of 
God,  his  presence  and  communion.    In  Christ  we  behold 
God  again  dwelling  in  man,  and  offering  to  us  fellow- 
Rhip  with  the  Father  and  with  himself.      By  man  we 
lost  the  empire  God  gave  him  over  all  things  here  ;  in 
Christ  we   behold   man   head  over   all  things   to   his 
church.     In  man,  we  fell  under  the  tyranny  of  death 
and  him  that  hath  the  power  of  death ;  in  Christ,  we 
behold  the  seed  of  the  woman  bruising  the  head  of  the 
sei-pent,  and,  having  conquered  death  and  hell  in  the 
enemy's  own  dominions,  dragging  them  bound  to  his 
chariot-wheels,  and  making  ostentation   of  his  spoils, 
openly  triumphing.     O  Death,  where  is  thy  sting,  when 
thou  comest  as  a  radiant  angel  to  call  us  home  ;  when 
every  cord  of  flesh  thou  dost  rend  is  but  the  parting  of 
another  stay  that  binds  the  aspiring  soul  to  earth  ;  when 
thy  severest  agimies  are  but  the  wrenching  of  fetters 
from    our   wings!      O  Grave,   where  is   thy  victory, 
when,  through   the  tomb  which   Jesus  has  broken  for 
us,  we  pass  to  the  holy,  glorious  heavens !     There,  the 
second  Adam  has  entered  the   second  paradise ;   and 
there,  when  the  resurrection  shall  change  our  vile  body 
to  be  like  his  glorious  body,  shall  our  entire  humanity 
be  pure,   sinless,  innocent,   and  blessed   forevermore ; 


but  oh,  with  what  greater  bliss  when  we  walk  amidst 
the  garden  of  delights,  not  alone,  as  Adam  walked  at 
first,  or  as  afterwards  with  but  one  to  second  his  praise; 
but  in  fellowship  with  an  innumerable  company  of 
saints  and  angels  plucking  freely  of  the  tree  of  "^  life, 
and  drinking  of  the  river  of  God's  pleasures  that  flows 
from  out  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb  !  And  the 
bliss  shall  be  eternal:  for  sin  can  never  enter  there, 
because  the  second  Adam  is  the  Son  of  God  who  can- 
not die ;  because  he  has  died  on  the  cross  and  now  liv- 
etli  forevermore. 

Great  is  our  confidence,  because  we  believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Chnst,  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  who 
was  conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  born  of  the  Vir- 
gin Mary. 


ssaas 


i 


IS 

1        B 

1 

'1 

i  ^^11! 

LECTURE   XVII. 


CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS. 


^  iiill 


FIFTEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS. 

Quest.  XXX VII.      What  dost  thou  understand  by  the  roords:   Hb  suf 

FERED? 

Ans.  That  he  all  the  time  that  he  lived  on  earth,  but  especially  at  the 
end  of  his  l,fe,  sustained  in  body  and  soul  the  wrath  of  God  against 
the  sms  of  all  mai.kind;  that  so,  by  his  passion,  as  the  only  propitia- 
tory sacrifice,  he  might  redeem  our  body  and  soul  from  everlasting 
damnation,  and  obtain  for  us  the  favor  of  God,  righteousness,  and 
eternal  life.  «  » 

Quest  XXXVIII.     Why  did  he  suffer  under  Pontius  Pilate  as  his  Judge  f 
Aks.     I  hat  he,  being  innocent  and  yet  condemned  by  a  temporal  judge 

might  thereby  free  us  from  the  severe  judgment  of  God  to  which  we 

were  exposed. 

Quest.  XXXIX.     Is  there  anything  more  in  his  being  crucified  than  if  he 

had  died  some  other  death  f 
Ans.    Yes,  there  is;  for  thereby  I  am  assured  that  he  took  on  him  the 

curse  which  lay  upon  me;  for  the  death  of  the  cross  was  accursed  of 

God. 

T^HE  doctrine  held  by  the  reformed  churches,  accord- 
ing to  the  word  of  God,  respecting  the  propitiatory 
and  vicarious  nature  of  our  Lord's  sufferings,  has  nec- 
essarily been  handled  at  large  in  our  comments  on  sev- 
eral previous  lessons,  especially  on  those  for  the  Fourth, 
Fifth,  and  Sixth  Lord's  days;  and,  therefore,  it  is  not 
requisite,  that,  in  studying  the  article  of  the  creed  be- 
fore us,  we  should  do  more  than  consider  such  particu- 
lars in  it  as  have  not  been  already  treated  of. 

"I  believe  .  .  .  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  .  .  who  .  . 
suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate,  was  crucified,  dead  and 
buried." 

The  death  and  burial  of  our  Lord  are  reserved  for 
VOL.1.  as        • 


854 


qSmST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.       [Lect.  XVH. 


the  next  lesson ;  and  we  are  now  to  learn  :  What  is 
meant  by  his  suffering  ;  Why  it  is  stated  that  he  suf- 
ered  under  Pmtius  Pilate;  and  the  reason  for  his 
suffering  on  the  cross. 

First  :  What  do  we  understand  by  the  words :  He 

suffered  ? 

The  Catechism  tells  us  in  the  Thirty-seventh  Answer, 
which  has  just  been  read  in  our  hearing. 

Here  are  several  things  to  be  noted :  the  purpose  of 
his  sufferings  ;  the  cause  of  his  sufferings ;  and  the 
duration  of  his  sufferings. 

I.  The  purpose  of  our  Lord's  suffering. 

**  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death 
by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all 
have  sinned."  That  is  the  history  of  our  ruin.  The 
sentence  which  fell  upon  our  first  parent  has  fallen 
upon  us  all,  for  like  him  we  all  have  sinned.  That 
sentence  is  death  :  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof, 
thou  shalt  surely  die."  Death  is  the  mode  and  execu- 
tion of  divine  wrath  against  the  sinner ;  but  it  means 
more  than  the  separation  of  soul  from  body,  which  we 
ordinarily  call  death.  It  is  such  an  infliction  of  diving 
punishment  as  turns  the  life  of  man,  which  God  origi- 
nally meant  for  liappiness  in  the  enjoyment  of  divine 
favor,  to  utter  misery ;  and,  as  man  sins  in  bodily  acts 
consequent  upon  the  will  of  his  spiritual  nature,  and  as 
the  sentence  is  upon  the  whole  man,  both  his  soul  an4 
his  body  are  under  the  curse.  The  misery  of  man  is 
not  at  once  extreme,  because,  instantly  with  his  ruin, 
beffan  the  working  of  the  remedial  scheme  by  which 
the  full  execution  of  the  sentence  was  delayed,  that  the 
sinner  might  have  opportunity  of  repentance  through 
fiiith  in  the  redemption.     Our  first  parents  did  not  die, 


I-Kcr.  XVU.],       CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  355 

that  is,  their  mortal  life  did  not  end,  the  moment  that 
the  sentence. as  incurred;  but  they  at  once  betnto 
die  :  the.r  hfe  was  thenceforward  a  fatal  disease  until  it 
terminated  m  the  mortal  agony,  and  then,  had  not  the 
curse  been  averted  by  the  redemption,  thel  would  Lve 
gone  ,nto  everlasting,  utter  misery.     So  with  us      We 
are  born  to  d,e.      Death  meets  us  at  the  beginning  of 
l.fe.  and  we  are  dying  all  through  our  days  o^  eartif  tHl 
we  go  to  our  graves ;  and  then,  if  not  saL  by  Ch  ^ 

2Jli:'  '"^-^  ''^  — •".  agL- s  5 

from  death  ^^"1.  f  ^"^  '"  ^''"^'  "  *«  '-'^-m  us 
from  death  through  the  consecration  of  Christ  to  die  in 
our  stead   that  so  the  penalty,  being  transferred  I     „! 

_     .„   /' "  '  ,  .^*y* •       -Lhe  righteousness  of  God  Pis 
mamfested]  which  is  by  faith  unto  all  and  upon  a 
hem  that  believe,  being  justified  freely  by  hric 
trough  the  redemption  that  is  in  Chris[  jL  :  Xom 
God    ath  set  fort    to  be  a  propitiation,  through  {^^ 
sion  of     '     J"'^'"''  ''"  Hghteousness  for  fhe  remi" 

Sod     to  d'  r  P"''  ^'•'^"S^  ''''  ^-"-a-nce  of 

t.od     to  declare,  I  say,  at  this  time  his  righteousness  • 

ha^  e  m,g,,  be  just  and  the  justifier  of  hfm  wl^cTt 

utonof  rr;       On  "o  other  ground  but  the  substi- 

mercy  of  God  to  us  be  justified,  and  only  through  his 
suffermg  can  we  escape  eternal  death.     So,  also"! „  no 

cent  Jesus  when  he  was  abandoned  by  God  the  Father 
whose  .a  is  pledge,  for  the  reward' of  ri^ulj^lt: 

rn   an^fh  ""f  "f  "'"'  *"  ignominy  of  crucifix- 

«on,  and  the  curse  of  the  violated  law. 


856 


CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.      [Lbct.  XVII. 


n.  The  came  of  our  Lord's  sufferings. 

The  substitution  of  Christ  for  sinners  exposed  him 
to  the  wratli  of  God  against  sinners,  and,  as  that  divine 
wrath  is  manifested  in  the  sufferings  which  are  the  pun- 
ishment of  sin,  so,  as  the  Catechism  teaches  us,  the 
cause  of  Christ's  suflPerings  could  be  nothing  else  than 
the  wrath  of  God  laying  upon  him  the  punishment 
which  we  deserve.  There  can  be  no  suffering  but  that 
which  i^ceeds  from  the  wrath  of  God  against  sin. 
Yet  the  wrath  of  God  was  not  against  our  Lord  per- 
sonally, because  he  was  without  sin ;  but  against  the 
sinners  whom  he  represented.  It  was  as  if,  when  the 
Iwlts  of  divine  vengeance  were  launched  against  sin- 
ners, our  Lord  put  himself  before  them,  sheltering 
them  with  his  own  person  and  receiving  them  on  his 
own  body  and  soul.  He  himself  was,  and  continued  to 
be,  throughout  the  whole  of  his  sufferings,  the  beloved 
of  the  Father ;  and  it  was  because  he  was  the  beloved 
of  the  Father  that  his  sufferings  had  their  great  merit 
of  propitiation.  Thus  the  prophet :  "  We  did  esteem 
him  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and  afflicted  ;  but  he  was 
wounded  for  our  transgressions  ;  he  was  bruised  for  our 
iniquities ;  ...  he  had  done  no  violence,  neither  was 
any  deceit  to  be  found  in  his  mouth  ;  yet  it  pleased  the 
Lord  to  bruise  him  ;  he  hath  put  him  to  grief."  .  .  . 
"  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  be  satisfied  ; 
by  his  knowledge  (i.  e.  knowledge  of  him  or  faith  in 
him)  shall  ray  righteous  servant  justify  many,  for  he 
shall  bear  their  iniquities.  Therefore  will  I  divide  him 
a  portion  with  the  great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil 
with  the  strong ;  because  he  hath  poured  out  his  soul 
unto  death,  and  he  was  nmnbered  with  the  transgress- 
ors, and  he  bsffe  the  §p  of  many,  and  made  interces- 


tECT.  XVII.]       CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  357 

sion  for  the  transgressors."  Or  as  the  apostle  expresses 
It:  For  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us"  wh^ 
knew  no  s.n,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
God  m  h.m."  And  again :  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us 
from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us  • 
for  U  ,s  wntten  '  Cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on 
a  tree :       wh.ch  ,s  equivalent  to  saying  that,  by  his  cru- 

steaT'  ''"'^'  ""^''^  ^^  '^"'""■^i  '■"  «»' 

It  follows,  also,  that  the  sufferings  of  Christ  were  of 
his  whole  human  nature,  or  "both  of  his  body  and 
soul,  as  the  Catechism  has  it.  The  sentence  upon 
man  because  of  his  sin,  is  upon  both  his  body  and  soul. 
^ay,  as  the  body,  not  being  itself  of  a  moral  nature 
cannot  sua  except  as  it  is  the  instrument  of  the  soul,' 

b^t  7    7%      '^:^'^^  ^"^  "°  ***^^  «"'!  »■•  reason 
but  the  affl.ct,on  of  the  soul ;  and,  as  we  see  in  human 

suffering  on  earth,  but  as  will  be  fearfully  more  appar- 
ent m  the  place  of  torment,  the  soul  is  and  must  be  the 
great  sufferer  not  only  from  its  sympathy  with   the 
body  but  ,n  the  anguish  of  its  own  spiritual  remorse 
and  bitter  grief.     It  ,s  possible,  as  many  a  martyrdom 
or  natural  death-bed  has  shown,  for  a  Christian  to  fo" 
get   he  keenest  anguish  of  body  in  the  joyful  elevation 
of  Ins  spmt ;  but  there  is  no  escape  from  the  internal 
anguish  of  the  soul  itself.     So,  during  the  interval:: 
tween  death  and  the  resurrection,  while  the  bodies  of 
the  wicked  are  senseless  dust,  their  spirits  are  in  tor- 
ment;_  though  their  torments  will  be  fearfully  a<.gra- 
vated  when  their  bodies  being  raised,  their  spii-itfare 
toimented  through  corporeal  sufferings.     Hence,  as  is 
manifest  from  many  passages,  our  Lord  suffered  not 
only  in  the  pa.ns  of  his  flesh,  but  far  more  in  the  ago- 


If. 


858 


iJHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.     [Lect.  XVIL 


Lect-XVIL]  CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS. 


359 


Hies  of  his  spirit.  "  He  was  a  man  of  sorrows  and  ac- 
l|uainted  with  grief."  "  Now,"  said  he,  "  is  my  soul 
troubled ; "  and  again  :  "  My  soul  is  exceeding  sor- 
rowful, even  unto  death."  The  Saviour  was  sinless ; 
bpt  all  the  distress  that  sin  could  bring  upon  the  soul 
of  one,  who,  not  conscious  of  personal  guilt,  stood  in 
the  room  of  the  guilty,  he  felt ;  the  sense  of  horror 
from  the  contact  of  sins  laid  upon  him,  the  anguish 
consequent  upon  the  withdrawal  of  his  Father's  coun- 
tenance, the  humiliating  weight  of  the  curse,  the  shrink- 
inor  which  the  living  feel  from  an  iornominious,  cruel 
death,  —  all  were  his.  These  were  the  causes  of  that 
fearful,  indescribable  agony  in  the  garden  ;  these  filled 
to  the  brim  that  cup  which  he  shuddered  over  before  he 
could  drink  it,  when,  as  yet,  not  a  hand  had  been  laid 
upon  him,  and  the  physical  torture  of  the  cross  was  in 
anticipation  ;  and  these  wrung  out  of  his  meek  heart 
that  exceedingly  bitter  cry,  "  My  God  I  My  God ! 
whj  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  " 

But  our  Lord  stood  not  in  the  room  of  a  single  sin- 
ner ;  he  bare  the  sins  of  many  ;  and  heaven,  opened  to 
IIS  by  the  vision  of  John,  shows  a  mighty  host  redeemed 
Unto  God  by  his  blood.  Hence  his  sufferings  were  in- 
calculably more  than  the  sufferings  of  any  one  mere 
man  could  have  been.  For,  though  we,  unhesitatingly, 
and  not  without  horror,  reject  the  idea  that  his  suffer- 
ings were  weighed  out  to  him  in  exact  proportion  to 
the  sufferings  which  every  individual  of  all  he  re- 
deemed would  otherwise  have  actually  suffered,  we 
must  see  that  they  needed  to  be  so  great  as  to  justify 
Crod  in  taking  away  his  wrath  from  all  the  Saviour's 
people.  It  was,  among  other  reasons,  for  the  purpose 
*lif  strengthening  our  Lord's  humanity  to  endure  this 


accumulated  aggregation  of  suffering,  that  it  was  con- 
stituted in  union  with  the  divine  nature,  which  also 
gave  to  hrs  sufferings  their  infinite  value.  So  the 
Catechism  says,  that  "  he  sustained  the  wrath  of  God 
against  the  sins  of  all  mankind." 

This  last  sentence  requires  some  little  explanation 
lest  its  meaning  should  be  misunderstood ;  and  we  shall 
give  it  conformably  to  the  comments  of  the  learned  and 
pious  Ursinus,  the  author  of  the  Catechism,  and,  there- 
fore, the  best  expositor  of  its  sense.     The  idea  of  the 
sentence  is  that  of  several  scriptures:  as  where  our 
Lord  declares  that  "  God  so  loved  the  world  "  as  to 
give  his  only  begotten  Son  ;    and  the  writer  to  the 
Hebrews,  that  Christ  «  tasted  death  for  every  man ;  " 
and  Paul,  that  "  he  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all ; "  and 
John,  "  that  he  is  a  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not  for 
ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world." 
Yet  Scripture  must  be  read  in  harmony  with  itself; 
and,  as  we  know  that  all  men  are  not  actually  saved, 
but  only  tliose  who,  through  grace,  being  ordained  to 
eternal  life,  do  believe  and  repent ;  it  cannot  be  that 
our  Lord  bore  the  wrath  of  God  against  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world  in  the  same  sense  or  degree  that  he  bore 
it  in  the  room  of  his  people.     They  were  actually  re- 
deemed by  his  blood,  he  having  taken  the  penalty  they 
deserved  on  himself,  so  that  their  salvation  was  cer- 
tainly secured  by  his  vicarious  satisfaction  ;  but  the  rest 
Df  mankind,  though  they  have,  so  far  as  the  gospel  is 
preached  to  them,  opportunities  of  salvation,  are  con- 
demned to  death  eternal,  without  violence  being  done 
to  the  covenant  of  the  Son  with  the  Father,  in  the 
plan  of  salvation. 

Thus  Christ  died  for  all  mankind,  because  in  him 


CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.     [Lect.  XVII. 

Ae  blessings  of  salvation  are  not  confined  as  were  those 
of  the  Abmhamic  dispensation,  to  one  particular  peo- 
ple. The  Gospel  is  sent  throughout  all  the  world  to 
lie  preached  to  every  creature ;  and  whosoever  will,  be 
he  a  Jew  or  Gentile,  may  take  of  the  water  of  life 
freely.  And  again :  The  merit  of  our  Lord's  suffer- 
ings, through  the  union  of  his  human  to  his  divine 
mature,  is  infinite ;  displaying  the  wrath  of  God  against 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  and  so  justifying  the  offer 
of  divine  mercy  to  every  sinner  that  believes  on  his 
name.  As  several  of  the  later  fathers,  following  Ter- 
tuUian,  phrase  it :  "  His  merits  are  sufficient  for  all ;  but 
efficient  for  the  elect ;  "  and  Aquinas,  whom  the  Papists 
call  "  the  Angelical  Doctor,"  teaches  :  "  The  merit  of 
Christ  as  concerns  its  sufficiency  equally  belongeth  to 
all  men  ;  but  as  to  its  efficacy,  .  .  .  the  effects  and 
fruits  of  it  are  mercifully  bestowed  on  some,  and,  by  the 
just  judgment  of  God,  withheld  from  others."  Nor 
can  this  be  otherwise,  since  it  were  preposterous  to 
make  Christ  the  substitute  of  those  that  refuse  his  rep- 
tesentation.  But  it  is,  on  the  other  hand,  positively  true 
that  the  benefits  of  Christ's  merit  do  actually,  though 
not  in  a  saving  degree,  extend  to  all  men :  because,  for 
the  sake  of  Christ,  all  temporal  mercies  come  to  all, 
and  the  world  is  kept  by  his  intercession  from  becoming 
a  hell  of  extreme  torture  and  despair ;  and  very  pre- 
cious blessings,  though  not  the  most  precious,  are  be- 
stowed on  mankind  through  the  restraining  influence 
of  Christianity  and  the  light  which  it  sheds  on  every 
mind  wherever  the  healing  beams  of  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness shine.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that,  if  we 
believe  in  Christ  with  our  whole  heart,  his  merit  will 
certainly  save  us ;  but,  if  we  refuse  the  grace  he  offers, 


LBCT.XVn.]       CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS. 


861 


not  all  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  warrants  the  slight- 
est hope  of  escape  from  everlasting  death. 

III.  The  duration  of  our  Lord's  sufferings. 

On  this  particular  we  need  not  greatly  enlarge ;  for, 
as  we  have  already  shown  that  the  penalty  of  death 
which  was  inflicted  on  men  was  not  merely  the  mortal 
agony  of  the  dissolution  of  soul  and  body,  but  all  the 
evil  consequent  upon  our  mortality,  which*  is,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  our  Church,  "  a  continual  death,"  or,  as  we 
expressed  it,  a  long  mortal  disease  of  which  what  we 
ordinarily  call  death  is  the  critical   symptom,  it  was 
necessary  that  the  imputed  death  should  come  upon  our 
Lord  at  the  very  moment  of  his  life's  beginning.     All 
his  life  on  earth,  he  was  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and 
afflicted.     His  spirit  was  under  the  shadows  which  pre- 
ceded the  utter  darkness  of  the  cross,  and,   learning 
obedience  through  the   things  which  he  suffered,  he 
became  oui-  sympathizing  Saviour,  and  knows  how  to 
succor  us  who  are  tempted,  that  we  may  overcome  the 
world,  and,  notwithstanding  our  manifold  tribulation, 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.      All  his  precursive 
suffering  would  not  have  been  enough  (as  we  shall 
hereafter  learn)  without  the  consummation  of  his  death 
on  the  cross  ;  but,  had  he  not  suffered  from  his  manger 
to  his  giving  up  his  spirit  on  the  cross,  he  would  not 
have  suffered   the  death  we  deserve  to  die,  nor  have 
secured  for  us  the  grace  by  which  alone  we  may  "  live 
unto  God  "  while  "  we  die  daily." 

Secondly  :    Wht/  is  it  stated  that  he  suffered  under 
Pontius  Pilate  P 

'  The  main  reason,  doubtless,  for  the  insertion  of  this 
man's  name  here,  was  that  the  date  of  our  Lord's  suf- 
fering  on  the  cross  might  be  precisely  fixed.     The  sev- 


3o2 


tJHKIST*f  fitJFFERii#  jJLND  CROSS.     [Lkct.  XVIL 


Lect.  XVIL]     CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS. 


368 


.  1 


tr0  ^^^p^■^f^em^'spe2^>i  of  Pontius  Pilate  as  the 
Roman  officer,  or  procurator,  charged  by  the  emperor 
with  the  government  of  Judea  at  the  time  of  which 
they   write.      Luke,   the   evangehst,  had   before  said 
iiat    Pontius    Pilate   was   governor   of    Judea   when 
the  Baptist   began  to   preach.      Now  we  know  from 
other  histories  that  Pilate  was  removed  from  his  procu- 
latorship  just  before  the  death  of  Tiberius,  and  after  he 
lad   exercised  his  government  ten  years.     This  fixes 
fii  period  of  his  administration  between  A.  D.  25  and 
85,  which  corresponds  with  all  reasonable  accuracy  to 
the  sacred  chronology,*  and  proves  that  our  Lord  was 
crucified  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius. 
Justin  Martyr,  in  his  Apology  (or  defence)  for  Chris- 
tianity, about   the   beginning  of  the  second  century, 
boldly  appeals  to  the  record  of  the  acts  of  Pontius  Pi- 
late, then,  like  the  reports  of  all  governors,  on  file  at 
Home,  for  the  truth  of  the  facts  respecting  the  passion 
of  our   Lord.      There   is   also   a   remarkable   passage 
imnd  in  some  editions  of  the  Jewish  History  by  Jose- 
phus,  which  speaks  of  an  extraordinary  person,  well 
known  by  the  name  of  Christ,  who  taught  new  and 
extraordinary   doctrines,    and   wrought   miracles,    and 
persuaded  many  people  to  follow  his  opinions,  who  were 
called  after  him  Christians  ;  but,  being  brought  before 
Pilate  by  impeachment  of  the  principal  Jews,  he  was 
crucified.     Yet  his  followers  did  not  desist,  but  claimed 
through  their  preachers  to  have  seen  him  alive  three 
days  after  his  death.     The  passage  has,  however,  been 
thought  by  many,  though  not  all,  learned  men  to  have 
been  a  forged  interpolation   of  the  text  of  Josephus, 
and,  therefore,  we  need  not  insist  upon  citing  it  as  cor- 

♦  See  Lardner,  Cred.  Gos.  His.,  vol.  i.  b.  ii.  c.  2. 


roboratory  proof.  My  own  opinion  is  that  the  passage 
is  genuine;  but  modesty  may  well  prevent  me  from 
urging  it  when  Lardner  is  against  it.  But  there  is  a 
passage  in  the  Annals  of  Tacitus  which  cannot  be  im- 
peached, and  states  that  "Nero  persecuted  with  ex- 
quisite torments  a  sect  of  men  commonly  called  Chris- 
tians,—  called  so  from  Christus,  who  in  the  reign  of 
Tiberius  was  executed  under  Pontius  Pilate,  the  pro- 
curator of  Judea."  There  are  other  highly  convincing 
testimonies  of  writers  not  Christian  ;  but  these  may 
suffice  to  show  the  reason  for  this  sentence  in  the 
Creed. 

It  is  proper,  however,  from  deference  to  the  teaching 
of  the  Catechism,  and  for  our  greater  edification,  thai 
we  note  here  several  important  truths  connected  with 
our  Lord's  suffering  under  Pontius  Pilate. 

1.  It  coincides  with  prophecy.     For, 

a.  Shiloh  could  not  come  until  the  sceptre  had  de- 
parted from  Judah  ;  which  was  not  the  case  until  after 
the  death  of  Herod  the  Great,  and  the  appointment  of 
a  Roman  governor  over  Judea  as  a  conquered  province. 
Hence  the  Jews,  by  appealing  to  Pilate,  acknowledged 
their  lack  of  authority. 

b.  The  Jews,  and  the  Romans,  now  the  masters  of 
the  world,  may  be  said  to  have  comprehended  all  man- 
kind ;  and  our  Lord  was  "  to  be  despised  and  rejected 
of  men  : "  not  of  the  Jews  only,  but  of  men  generally. 
So  the  Psalmist :  "  Why  do  the  heathen  ra^e,  and  the 
people  imagine  a  vain  thing  ?  The  kings  of  the  earth 
set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together 
against  the  Lord  and  his  anointed  ;  "  and  the  company 
of  believers  after  the  Pentecost  interpret  "  the  people  " 
as  the  people  of  Israel  (Acts  iv.  27),  and,  following  the 


an 


CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.     [Lect.  XVII. 


satfie  view,  we  may  suppose  that  by  "  the  rulers  "  are 
meant  the  rulers  of  the  Jews,  who  united  with  the 
Roman  authorities  in  the  execution  of  Christ,  or  the 
Lord's  anointed ;  as  Jesus  himself  had  told  his  disciples : 
"  The  Son  of  man  shall  be  betrayed  unto  the  chief 
plesfs  and  unto  the  scribes,  and  they  shall  condemn 
him  to  death  ;  and  shall  deliver  him  to  the  Gentiles  to 
mock,  and  to  scourge,  and  to  crucify  him." 

e.  It  was  necessary  also  that  he  should  "  be  taken 
from  prison  and  from  judgment."  So  was  he  impris- 
oned and  put  to  death  under  the  double  sentence  of  the 
Jewish  Sanhedrim  and  the  Roman  governor. 

d.  It  was  distinctly  foretold  that  the  Messiah  should 
bear  the  curse  by  hanging  on  a  tree ;  but,  as  we  shall 
presently  see,  crucifixion  was  a  mode  of  punishment 
never  used  by  the  Jews,  who,  if  they  had  executed  the 
Savioiiri  would  have  stoned  him  to  death,  —  the  punish- 
ment  of  blasphemy  by  their  law. 

2.  There  was  a  most  fitting  significance,  as  the  Cat- 
echism says,  in  his  being,  "  though  innocent,  condemned 
by  a  temporal  judge  that  he  might  free  us  from  the 
severe  judgment  of  God  to  which  we  were  exposed." 
We  see  him,  the  just,  crucified  as  the  unjust.  His 
innocence  is  acknowledged.  Pilate's  wife  from  her 
miraculous  dream,  the  penitent  thief  by  his  side,  the 
centurion  who  glorified  God  after  his  death,  and  all  the 
people  that  stood  beholding  and  smote  their  breasts, 
but  especially  Pilate  himself,  in  explicit  and  repeated 
declarations,  testified  his  innocence  :  yet  was  he  never- 
theless condemned  and  crucified  under  the  will  of  God, 
acting  throuffh  the  hands  of  ostensible  authority.  So 
may  we,  as  we  look  upon  the  sufferer,  see  him  takmg 
our  place,  bearing  our  condemnation,  and  dying,  not 


Lect.  XVli.j      CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  365 

himself  guilty,  the  death  which  we  deserved.  Nor 
should  we  overlook  the  strong  consolation  tiiat,  though 
the  world  may  unjustly  reproach,  condemn,  and  perse- 
cute his  people  for  his  sake,  all  its  malice  is  of  lit- 
tle account,  so  that  we  are  able,  through  faith  in  his 
guiltless  sufferings,  to  have  the  pardon  and  favor  of 
God  his  Father.  God  may  chasten  the  Christian  even 
by  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  but  will  not  forsake  him 
or  suffer  him  to  be  overwhelmed.  Nay,  though  he 
slay  us  we  may  yet  trust  in  him. 

Thirdly  :  The  reason  for  our  LorcTs  suffering  on  the 
cross, 

"  Thereby,"  says  the  Catechism,  "  I  am  assured  that 
he  took  on  him  the  curse  which  lay  upon  me,  for  the 
death  of  the  cross  was  accursed  of  God." 

This  is  in  agreement  with  the  apostle  (Galatians  iii. 
13)  :  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the 
law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us;  for  it  is  written, 
Cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree."  Let  us, 
however,  for  greater  explicitness,  consider  first  the 
nature  of  crucifixion,  and  then  the  reasons  why  our 
Lord  was  put  to  death  in  that  manner. 
1.  The  nature  of  crucifixion. 

It  was  probably  a  most  ancient  mode  of  punishment : 
for  nothing  was  more  natural  than  that  men,  deter- 
mined to  execute  a  criminal  or  an  enemy,  should,  if 
they  refused  him  the  mercy  of  the  sword,  hang  him  on 
the  nearest  tree ;  and  this  especially  when  they  meant 
to  make  him  a  spectacle  of  ignominy,  vengeance,  or 
warning.  Examples  of  this  are  frequent  among  all 
people.  When,  however,  they  desired  to  protract  the 
agonies  of  the  victim,  they  would  fasten  him  upon  the 
tree  to  perish  with  pain  and  hunger.      The  tree  would 


I'    r  I 

■'%\\ 

■it 

■\   *  J 

M 
t 


CaWT^  PJif  ERING  AND  CROSS.       [Lect.  XVIL 


>.,; 


afford  an  opportunity  for  tils  by  its  forked  or  trans- 
verse branches  :  hence,  one  of  the  Latin  terms  for  such 
an  instrument  of  torture  was  furca,  or  fork,  like  the 
letter  Y  ;  and  another,  ;?a^i6M/um,  (from  patere,  quad  to 
Stretch  apart,)  which  would  seem  to  intend  the  cross- 
piece  to  the  perpendicular,  forming  the  letter  T.  In 
process  of  time  the  cross  came  to  be  artificially  con- 
structed of  two  beams  in  this  last  form,  or,  sometimes, 
though  at  a  much  later  period,  like  the  letter  X.  The 
Jews,  as  we  learn  from  several  passages,  used  to  hang 
persons  convicted  of  certain  crimes  on  a  tree,  as  crim- 
inals among  us  are  hung  by  the  neck  on  a  gallows  ;  but 
their  law  did  not  allow  them  to  protract  their  suffer- 
ings, nor  to  leave  the  bodies  hanging  after  sunset. 
Among  the  Greeks,  and,  especially,  the  Romans,  cruci- 
fixion was  common,  but  was  ever  considered  the  most 
disgraceful  and  extreme  mode  of  punishment,  —  being 
awarded  only  to  slaves  and  the  worst  malefactors, 
though  sometimes  to  their  barbarian  captives,  whom 
they  considered  as  slaves. 

When  a  person  was  condemned  to  the  cross,  the 
command  of  the  magistrate  to  the  executioner  was: 
*'Go;  bind  his  hands,  scourge  him,  cover  his  head, 
liing  him  on  the  unhappy  tree."  Scourging  in  every 
ease  preceded  the  crucifixion.  It  would  seem,  also,  that 
the  convict  was  made  to  bear  his  cross  to  the  place  of 
punishment.  When  there,  in  some  cases  the  cross  was 
first  laid  along  on  the  ground,  and  the  man  so  bound 
m  it  that  it  might  be  lifted  with  him  and  fixed  uprightly  ; 
or  the  cross  was  fii-st  erected,  and  he,  being  seated  on  a 
bar  projecting  at  a  proper  height,*  was  then  fastened 
upon   it :    which  was  done  by  driving  strong   spikes 

*  BwUUs  exce$m.  Tertull.  adv.  nationes,  LII. 


Lkct.XVII.J       CHRIST'S  suffering  AND  CROSS.  367 

through    the   palms   of   the   hands,   the    arms    beino- 
stretched  out  on  the  transverse  beam,  and  by  a  spike 
driven   through   both  feet,  or  one  through  each  foot. 
Some   have   doubted  whether  or  not  our   Lord's  feet 
were  nailed  to  the  cross;  but  the  prophecy  is  explicit : 
"  They  pierced  my  hands  and  ray  feet."  (Ps.  xxii.  16.) 
The  limbs  were,  however,  most  probably,  bound  with 
cords,  as  else  the  weight  of  the  body  would  have  torn 
it  off  at  the  nails.     No  vital  part  being  touched,  the 
wretched  sufferer  would  hang  often  for  days,*  until  he 
expired  from  the  mingled  agonies  of  shame,  hunger, 
thirst,  and  pain.      The  anguish  of  crucifixion  (from 
which  we  derive  our  term,  excruciating)  must  have 
been,  physiologists  tell  us,  very  great.     Cicero,  in  his 
impeachment  of  Verres,  who  had  crucified  a  Roman 
citizen,  calls  it  "  the  most  cruel  and  terrible  "  of  all 
punishments,  which  "no  man  should  see,  or  hear,  or 
even  think  of."     The  great  nails  were  driven  through 
the  parts  of  the  hands  and  feet   abounding  in  nerves 
and  tendons  ;  the  arms  being  stretched  back  and  apart 
made  the  slightest  motion  aggravate  the  pain ;  the  ac- 
tion of  the  air  on  the  open  wounds,  increased  it,  by 
inflamniation,  yet  more ;  and,  besides,  the  blood  was 
necessarily  forced  in  unnatural  quantity  on  the  brain 
and  the  stomach,  which  itself  would  cause  intolerable 
torment.      To  this  physical   torture   must  be   added, 
what  to  a  pure,  noble  spirit  would  be  far  more  poignant, 
II  consciousness  of  disgrace,  and  an  exposure   to  the 
jeers  and  taunts  of  an  idle,  brutal  mob,  always  gathered 
around  an  execution.     Plato,  in  a  passage  whicli  has 
ever  excited  great  astonishment  from  its  striking  re- 
semblance to  prophecy,  makes  crucifixion  to  be  the 

♦  Often  till  the  third,  sometimes  even  the  seventh  day. 


368 


CHRIST*S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.     [Lect.  XVII. 


Utmost  possible  extreme  of  dishonor  and  suffering  to 
which  a  man  can  be  brought  by  the  malignant  persecu- 
tion of  men.  He  is  describing  a  just  person,  such  as 
philosophical  imagination  portrayed,  maintaining  his 
integrity  against  every  possible  disadvantage,  and  says : 
**This  man,  though  he  has  done  nothing  but  good, 
shall  be  accused  of  all  manner  of  wrong,  and,  though 
inpQCent,  pass  through  life  under  censure  as  the 
most  wicked  of  men,  yet  maintain  through  all  a  most 
unshaken  virtue,  until  he  shall  be  seized,  scourged,  tor- 
tured, bound,  have  his  eyes  put  out,  and  finally,  after 
having  endured  the  extreme  of  all  other  cruelties,  shall 

le  crucified."* 

Our  Lord's  head  was  not  covered,  neither  were  his 
eyes  put  out,  and  the  mercy  of  the  Jewish  law, 
(strangely  remembered  by  that  bigot  people  in  their 
savage  fury,)  which  commanded  that  "  strong  drink 
iiould  be  given  to  him  that  is  ready  to  perish,"  doubt- 
less, prompted  (perhaps  at  the  suggestion  of  some 
pitying  bystander,  though  the  soldiers  may  have  done 
it  insultingly,)  the  offering  of  a  sponge,  but  with  sour 
wine  and  bitter  infusions,  to  his  painful  lips  ;  for  there 
was  nusiich  custom  among  either  Greeks  or  Romans. 
B11I9  in  all  other  respects,  he  suffered  crucifixion  as  it 
has  now  been  described  :  he  was  bound,  was  scourged, 
was  tormented  by  the  soldiers  ;  they  laid  the  heav}'' 
wood  on  his  blessed  shoulders,  and  then  nailed  him  on 
the  cross. 

In  the  addition  of  the  crown  of  thorns,  as  of  the 
purple  robe,  the  reed  placed  between  his  bound  hands, 
and  the  superscription  on  the  cross-piece  (^patihulum)^ 
where  the  Romans  usually  put  the  crime  of  the  sufferer, 

♦  Plato,  Report,  II.  S  6. 


Lbot.XVIL]      CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  869 

we  see  the  mockery  of  his  claim  to  be  King  of  the 
Jews,  —  the  only  thing  in  our  Lord's  conduct  wliich  the 
callous-hearted  Pilate  appears  to  have  cared  about,  it 
bemg  rebellion  against  the  Roman  authority.  We  are 
now  prepared  to  learn 

II.  The  reason  why  our  Lord  was  put  to  death  on 
the  cross. 

1.  It  was  death  on  a  tree.     The  sin  fatal  to  our  race 
was  committed  by  an  offence  against  a  tree  which  God 
had  commanded  should  not  be  touched.     It  was  also  a 
tree,  which,  in  the  arrangements  of  Paradise  resem- 
blmg  the  apocalyptical  description  of  heaven,  bore  the 
fruit  of  which   if  a  man  ate  he  should  live   forever. 
Thei^   IS   an   exquisite   fitness    in  our  Lord's  atoning 
tor  sin  on  a  tree,  thus  turning  the  occasion  of  a  de- 
served death  into  the  ever-verdant,  fruit-laden  source 
of  life  eternal.      As  we  look   back  to  that  disastrous 
scene  where  the  tempter  triumphed  in  the  sin  of  the 
trst  Adam  that  brought  the  curse  on  us  all,  we  see  the 
second  Adam,  by  his  infinite  righteousness,  triumphing 
for  us  over  all  the  force  of  our  enemy,  achieving  our 
immortal  blessing. 

2.  It  being  requisite  that  our  Lord  should  die  under 
Jewish  as  well  as  Gentile  law,  there  was  yet  no  mode 
ot  mortal  punishment  ia  the  Mosaic  law  by  which  his 
suffering  would  have  been  consistent  with  prophecy  ; 
Jor,  of  the  four  metiiods  known  to  them,  slaying  by  the 
sword  would  not  have  answered,  because  it  involved 
no  disgrace ;  nor  stoning,  because  then  his  bones  would 
have  been  broken,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  foretold 
Should  not  be ;  nor  burning,  because  then  the  flesh  of 
the  great  Paschal  Lamb  would  not  have  remained  to 
be  the  food  of  his  people,  for  strangulation  would  have 

VOL.  I.  2* 


h 

]i''\ 


ri 


JtauST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.     [Lkct.  XVII. 

rendered  his  flesh  unclean.  It  was,  however,  necessary 
that  his  blood  should  be  shed,  because,  without  the  shed- 
ding of  blood,  there  is  no  remission  ;  that  he  should  be 
lifted  up  to  the  eyes  of  faith  as  the  serpent  was  lifted 
up  in  the  wilderness  ;  that  he  should  suffer  extreme 
agony,  because  his  pains  were  to  be  expressive  of  divine 
wrath  against  sin  ;  and,  above  all,  that  he  should  die  on 
a  tree,  because  that  was  the  only  mode  of  death  which 
God  had  specially  pronounced  accursed.  These  requi- 
sites could  be  found  only  in  crucifixion. 

3.  It,  more  than  any  other  imaginable  method,  is 
calculated  to  impress  us  with  the  religious  lessons  which 
the  death  of  the  Lamb  of  God  for  us  should  teach 
every  believer  on  his  name. 

a.  With  what  horror  should  we  regard  those  sins 
which  brought  such  shame,  and  anguish,  and  curse  on 
Mm,  our  devoted  Friend  and  patient  Surety ! 

b.  With  what  confidence  may  we  rely  upon  the 
acceptance  of  his  atonement  for  his  people  when  it 
pleased  the  Father  so  to  bruise  him,  and  put  him  to 

grief  I 

c.  With  what  readiness  should  we  give  up  the  world 
when  duty  requires  it,  as  we  see  it  rejecting,  persecut- 
ing, and  maligning  our  divine  Master,  Example,  and 
Saviour !  There,  as  we  behold  him  crucified,  should 
we  see  "  the  world  crucified  unto  us,"  and  so  "  crucify 
ourselves  unto  the  world." 

d.  With  what  patience  and  long-suffering  should  we 
bear  the  certain,  inevitable  trials  of  a  Christian  life,  so 
fully  and  painfully  set  forth  in  the  crucifixion  of  our 
elder  brother,  while  we  arm  ourselves  with  his  pa- 
tience, and  assure  ourselves  of  his  sympathizing  grace  I 
The  cross  is  the  badge  of  our  profession ;  we  all  must 


"^yfi"' 


Lect.  XVII.]      CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  Zll 

bear  it ;  but  it  is  the  sign  of  our  victory,  because  Christ 
m  the  midst  of  its  agonies,  overcame  for  us. 

e.  With  what  instant  earnestness  should  we  flee  to 
take  shelter  in  the  Saviour's  atonement,  while,  on  the 
one  hand,  we  see  that  God  will  by  no  means  clear  the 
guilty,  and  the  fearfulness  of  the  punishment  which  is 
sure  to  follow  unrepented  sin ;  on  the  other,  see  how 
greatly  Christ  desired  the  salvation  of  our  souls  when 
he  opened  for  us  the  entrance  to  life  by  devoting  him- 
self to  the  cross,  with  all  its  shame,  "^  and  curse,  and 
jinguish ! 

O  Lord  Jesus,  fain  would  we  bear  the  cross  for  thee, 
as  thou  didst  bear  it  for  us  !  But  we  are  weak  and  sin- 
ful ;  how  shall  we  bear  what  thou  didst  faint  under  ? 
jO  Saviour,  stamp  its  image  on  our  hearts  !  Crucify 
us  to  thyself!  Then  shall  the  sorrow  be  easy,  and  the 
burden  be  light  I 


i 


is 


it  m 


9 

m 

9k 


LECTURE  XVIII. 


CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BUEIAL. 


'I 


SIXTEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
CHRIST'S   DEATH   AND   BURIAL. 


il 


11- 
t 


Quest.  XL.  Why  was  it  necessary  for  Christ  to  humble  himself,  even  unto 
death  f 

Ans.  Because,  with  respect  to  the  justice  and  truth  of  God,  satisfaction  for 
our  sins  could  not  be  made  othewise  than  by  the  death  of  the  Son  of 
God. 

Quest.  XLI.     Why  was  he  also  buried? 

Ans.    Thereby  to  prove  that  he  was  really  dead. 

Quest.  XLir.     Since,  then,  Christ  died  for  us,  why  must  we  also  die  f 

Aks.  Our  death  is  not  a  satisfaction  for  our  sins;  but  only  an  abolishing 
of  sin  and  a  passage  to  eternal  life. 

Quest.  XLIII.  What  further  benefit  do  we  receive  from  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ  on  the  cross  f 

Ans.    That,  by  virtue  thereof,  our  old  man  is  crucified,  dead,  and  buried 
with  him,  thai  so  tiie  corrupt  inclinations  of  the  flesh  may  no  more* 
reifjn  in  us;  but  that  we  may  offer  ourselves  unto  him  a  sacrifice  of 
thanksgiving. 

Quest.  X  LI  V.     Why  is  there  added :  He  descended  into  hell  f 

Ans.  That,  in  my  greatest  temptations,  I  may  be  assured  and  wholly 
comfort  myself  in  this,  that  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  his  inexpressible 
anguish,  pains,  and  hellish  agonies,  in  which  he  was  plunged  during 
all  his  sufferings,  but  especially  on  the  cross,  hath  delivered  me  from 
the  anguish  and  torments  of  hell. 

/^UR  lesson  for  the  last  Lord's  Day  led  us  to  consider 
^^  carefully,  and,  as  we  trust,  not  without  profit,  the 
sufferings  of  our  Lord,  especially  his  condemnation 
under  Pontius  Pilate,  and  his  bitter  anguish  on  the 
cross.  To-day  we  are  called  to  behold  the  great  Suf- 
ferer dead,  and  not  only  dead,  but  buried. 

The  doctrine  of  his  death  could  not  be  separated 
from  an  understanding  of  his  crueijixion^  which  was  the 


I'i' 


^^i 


li'y 


■J 


376 


CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.      [Lect.  XVIH. 


|:  li 


1 


mode  of  it,  and,  indeed,  has  been  fundamental  to  all 
that  we  liave  liitherto  been  taught  respecting  the  way 
of  salvation  ;  therefore,  the  Catechism  simply  reiterates 
the  main  truth  under  the  40th  Question.  With  like 
brevity,  the  purpose  of  his  burial  is  stated  to  be  proof 
that  his  death  w^as  really  accomplished  (41st)  ;  and  an 
inquiry  as  to  the  reason  why  we  must  die,  notwith- 
standing his  dying  for  us,  is  met  by  showing  what  the 
death  of  the  Christian  has  become,  through  the  pro- 
pitiation of  Christ  (42d).  Then  follows  a  recital  of 
some  further  benefits,  or,  rather,  of  some  not  as  particu- 
larly dwelt  upon  before,  derived  from  the  cross  (3d)  ; 
after  which  is  set  forth  the  fulness  of  comfort  to  be 
fimnd  in  the  fact  asserted  of  our  Lord  by  the  Creed, 
that  he  descended  into  helL 

There  are  so  many  interesting  questions  connected 
with  the  last  point,  that  it  requires  a  separate  discourse ; 
we  shall  postpone  its  formal  treatment,  using  it, 
f,  as  far  as  needed  in  our  present  study.  The 
other  matter  of  the  lesson  may  be  conveniently  arranged 
under  three  heads  :  — 

First  :   The  necessity  for  our  Lord!s  humiliation  even 

unto  death* 

SBCONllEr:  His  burial^  and  the  reasons  for  it. 
Thirdly:   The  benefits  which  we  receive  from  his 

death  and  burial. 

First  :  The  necessity  for  our  Lord's  humiliation  even 

unto  death. 

The  infinite  merit  of  our  Lord's  vicarious  sufferings 
having  been  already  shown,  the  question  now  is  :  Why 
was  it  requisite  that  he  should  actually  die?  Were  not 
those  sorrows  of  his  that  wrung  his  heart  all  his  life 
mg,  his  terrible  agony  in  the  garden,  his  anguish  of 


Lbct.  XVIII.]      CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 


377 


both  body  and  soul  on  the  cross,  enough  to  testify  the 
divine  wrath  against  us  without  this  extreme  humilia- 
tion ?     If  Enoch  and  Elijah  were  taken  into  heaven 
without  having  passed  through  the  mortal  agony,  why 
might  not  the  Father  have  assumed  his   well-beloved 
Son  to  his  glory  from  the  cross,  in  the  sight  of  his  ene- 
mies, as  he  did  afterward  from  Bethany,  from  the  midst 
of  his  adoring  disciples  ?      Would  not  the  arrest  of  hjs 
passion  by  such  majesty  have  vindicated  the  excellence 
of  his  atonement  more  than  even  his  resurrection  after 
the  disgraces  of    the  tomb  ?      My  brethren,  if  such 
thoughts  arise  in  our  minds,  it  is  because  we  forget 
the  penalty  which    the    Mediator    undertook   to   ply 
on  behalf  of  his  people.     The  sentence  was  explicit : 
"  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die ; "  "  Without  the 
shedding  of  blood,  there  is  no  remission."     The  life  of 
the  sinner  was  forfeited  ;  and,  therefore,  the  life  of  the 
substitute  w^as  required.      He  had  covenanted  to  die 
that  they  might  live.      We  must  believe  that  nothing 
Jess,  nothing  short  of  this,  could  have  answered  the 
broken,  dishonored  law.     All  the  sacrifices  in  which 
the   victims    were   slain   outright,   all    the    prophecies 
which  declared  that  he  should  pour  out  his  soul  unto 
death,  all  his  own  testimonies  respecting  the  decease 
which  he  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem,  all  the  sub- 
sequent teachings  of  his  apostles,  show  that  his  obe- 
dience was  not  complete  until  death,  nor  his  expiation 
but  in  death.     All  his  antecedent  sorrows  and  pains  and 
tortures  were  but  precursors  of  his  death :  death  was 
m  them  all,  but  not  complete  until,  as  in  our  death,  his 
spirit  was  separated  from  his  body,  leaving  the  clay  life- 
less, and  prone  to  mingle  with  the  dust  out  of  which  it 
was  taken.     It  was  no  seeming  death,  no  deep  trance 


m 


-J 


I 


ml 


ii 

'1' 


878  CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.      [Lect.  XVIH. 

mir  ivncope  simulating  death,  from  which  he  recovered 
on  the  third  day;  but  an  entire  dissolution,  so  that  he 
ceased  to  live  until  at  his  resurrection  he  began  to  live 
again.     -  Father,"  said  he,  in  the  midst  of  the  great 
darkness,  as  the  vail  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain, 
"  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit !  and,  having 
said  thus,  he  gave  up  the  ghost,"  or,  as  it  is  in   the 
Greek,  he  expired :  the  breath  went  utterly  out  ot  ins 
torn,  exhausted  frame;  his  body  yet  hung  on  the  cruel 
nails,  but  his  anguish  was  over ;  his  blessed  heart  was 
gtill,  his  holy  head  drooped,  his  gentle  eyes  wei-e  closed ; 
to  had  lived  our  life  to  its  last  pang ;  his  soul  had  gone 
up  to  his  Father;  and  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  dead. 

The  death-sentence  passed  upon  man  included  tar 
more  than  the  mere  mortality  of  the  body  :  death  was 
a  name  for  the  wrath  of    God  upon  body  and  soul; 
wrath  eternal,  because  never  could  man  have  suffered 
sufficiently  to  expiate  his  sin,  and,  without  the  renewing 
grace  of  God,  he  would  be  continually  incurring  fresh 
condemnation  bv  fresh   offence:  so  that  death  implies 
nil  the  torments  of  hell,  as  well  as  the  penal  effects  of 
tin  in  this  world;  but  the  death  which  is  the  end  ot 
,Dur  course  here,  was  a  component,  essential  part  ot  the 
death-punishment,  besides  being  a  most  striking  emblem 
and  foreshadowing  of  the  wrath  which  follows  it.     Our 
blessed  Lord  did  suffer  the  wrath  of  God  in  his  spirit, 
as  wellas  his  body:  the  very  wrath  which  makes  the 
hell   of  the   wicked.      "The  sorrows   of   death  com- 
passed "  him  ;  "  the  pains  of  hell  gat  hold  upon  "  him  ; 
or,  as  the  Catechism  says  (44tli),  he  was  in  inexpressi- 
ble  ancruish,  pains,  and  hellish  agonies,  during  all  his 
Bufferin^'crs,  but  especially  on  the  cross  :  as  far  as  a  pure, 
sinless  ^irit  cp|  fuffer  hell,  hg.  su^^^    it ;  but,  so  com- 


Lect.  XVIIL]       CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 


879 


pletely  did  he  expiate  our  guilt,  so  fully  satisfy  divine 
justice,  so  utterly  exhaust  death  by  his  sufferings,  that 
he  needed  not  to  pass,  after  the  article  of  dissolution, 
into  the  torments  which  await  the  wicked  beyond  this 
life.      As  he  bowed  his  head  and  gave  up  the  ghost,  he 
said  :  "  It  is  finished  !  "  because,  in  that  last  submission, 
he  bore  the  last  pang  of  the  curse,  he  drank  the  last 
drop  ill  the  cup  of  wrath,  he  felt  the  last  stroke  of  the 
avenger,  and  the  Father,  in  receiving  his  soul,  accepted 
his  atonement.      Then  was  it  apparent  to  the  universe 
of  observing  intelligence  that  he  died  for  us,  as  at  his 
resurrection  it  was  apparent  that  his  death  was  infinite- 
ly sufficient  for  our  eternal  life.      Hence  we,  after  the 
example  of  Scripture,  testify  our  belief  in  the  redemp- 
tion, by  our  confession  of  Christ's  death,  and,  obeying 
his  own   command,  celebrate  his  death  by  a  sacrament 
which  symbolizes  the  breaking  of  his  body  and  the 
shedding  of  his  blood. 

O  beloved  Christians,  what  strength  and  sweetness 
there  is  in  this  article  of  our  faith  !      If  Christ  walked 
never  so  closely  with  us  during  all  our  previous  temp- 
tations and  sorrows,  but  turned  away  when  the  last 
enemy  approached,  shaking  his  fearful  dart,  how  should 
we  shrink  back  in  terror,  and  cry,  in  his  own  "  exceed- 
ing bitter  cry,"   «  My  God,   why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me  ?  "    But  now  that  we  have  seen  him  dead,  we  know 
that  he  will  not  leave  nor  forsake  us,  but  will  be  our 
guide   even  unto  death;    we  mark  the  prints  of  his 
bleeding  feet  down  every  step  into  the  valley  dark  as 
darkness   itself,  and  know   that   he    will   go   with   us 
through  the  mystery.      Then  we  fear  no  evil,  because 
his  rod  and  his  staff  shall  comfort  us. 

Secondly  :  Hi8  burial,  and  the  reasons  for  it. 


' 


380 


CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND   BURIAL.      [Lkct.  XVUI. 


illl 


41st.   Why  was  he  also  buried  f 
An§.     Thereby  to  prove  that  he  was  really  dead. 
1.  This  is  a  very  important  reason  ;  for,  on  the  reali- 
m  of  his  death  depends  the  perfection  of  his  sacrifice, 
and  the  fact  of  his  resurrection  ;  and,  consequently,  the 
truth   of  all  Christianity.     It  was  at  the  third  hour 
(nine  o'clock  in  the  morning)  that  our  Lord  was  fixed 
on  the  cross,  and  about  the  ninth  hour  (three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon)  that  he  expired.      Many  lived  on  the 
cross  for  days  before  they  died ;  and  it  would  seem  that 
both  the   malefactors  executed   with   him  were  alive 
toward  the  close  of  the  day,  for  the  soldiers  brake  their 
legs  to  kill  them  outright ;  but  in  six  hours  his  suffer- 
ings were  over,  his  spiritual  agonies  hastening  the  catas- 
U'ophe.      The  next  day  was  a  Sabbath,  a  high  solemni- 
ty, —  one  of  the  three  Sabbaths  of  holy  convocation,  and 
immediately  previous  to  the  wave-offering  (Lev.  xxiii. 
10,  11)  ;  so  that  the  Jews,  whose  law  forbade  them  to 
let  any  one  remain  on  a  tree  over  any  sunset,  were 
specially  anxious  that  this  notable  Sabbath  should  not 
be  defiled,  and  besought  Pilate  that  an  immediate  end 
should  be  put  to  the  sufferers.      Strange  bigotry,  that 
could  tolerate  such  malignant  injustice  as  the  crucifix- 
ion of  an  innocent  one  like  Jesus,  yet  stickle  at  a  form ! 
Yet  such  is  formality  in  religion :  its  scrupulosity  in 
outward  rules  survives  the  spirit  of  piety.     Pilate,  easy 
to  comply  when  it  cost  him  nothing,  commands  the  sol- 
diers, not  without  witnesses  from  among  the  Jews,  to 
fulfil  their  wish :  but  Jesus  is  so  manifestly  dead,  that 
neither  soldiers  nor  Jews  doubt  it ;  yet,  to  make  all 
sure  for  us  as  well  as  for  them,  one  of  the  Romans 
thrusts  a  spear  into  his  side.      The  spear  reaches  his 
heart,  or,  at  the  least,  gives  a  mortal  wound  ;  for  out  of 


Lect.  XVIII.]     CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 


381 


the  fissure  flows  not  only  "  blood,"  but  what  the  evan- 
gelist calls  "  water,"  or  the  serous  fluid  found  within 
the  sac  encasing  the  heart  (pericardium);  though  it  is 
possible  that  it  was  from  the  effusion  which  great°agony 
often  sends  into  the  j)leura  :  but,  in  either  case,  the  proof 
is  clear  that  death  had  actually  occurred.  If  there  had 
been  the  slightest  chance  for  denial,  the  Jews,  after  the 
resurrection  of  our  Lord,  would  not  have  spared  it  ; 
but,  though  they  bribed  the  soldiers  to  say  that  his  dis- 
ciples had  stolen  his  body  in  the  night,  they  did  not 
pretend  to  say  he  had  not  been  really  dead. 

Had  not  divine  Providence  prevented  it,  the  sacred 
body  would  have  been  roughly  buried  in  the  place  ap- 
pointed  for  executed  malefactors,  near  the  scene  of  the 
crucifixion ;  but,  now  that  he  had  "  poured  out  his  soul 
unto  death,"  he  is  spared  from  farther  indignities.     Jo- 
seph  of  Arimathea,  of  whom  we  know  little  more  than 
that  he  was  "  a  rich  man,"  a  Pharisee,  "  an  honorable 
counsellor,  which  also  waited  for  the  kingdom  of  God," 
"  a  good  man  and  a  just,"  who  "  had  not  consented  "  to 
the  decree  against  Christ,  but  was  "  his  disciple,  though 
secretly,  for  fear  of  the  Jews,"  —  remorseful  at  having 
forsaken  his  Master,  and  impressed  by  the  awful  mira- 
cles attending  his  death,  now  goes  "  boldly  "  to  Pilate 
and  asks  "  that  he  might  take  away  the  body  of  Jesus ;  " 
and  Pilate,  willing  to  please  a  man  of  his  rank,  and  all 
the  ^yhile  persuaded  that  our  Lord  had  suffered  unjust- 
ly, gives  him  leave.      Joseph  had  a  new  tomb  prepared 
for  himself,  hewn,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  rich  Jews, 
out  of  a  rock  in  the  midst  of  a  garden  ;  and  there  he 
determined  to  lay  the  precious  remains.      But  Nicode- 
mus,  his  brother  counsellor,  and  like  him  in  concealed 
discipleship  (for  it  was  the  same  that  came  to  Jesus  by 


883 


CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.     [Lect.XVIH. 


Lect.  XVIII.]     CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BUEUL. 


383 


'I 


night),  now  claims  a  part  in  the  sad  offices.    The  Jews, 
who  abhorred  burning,  and  the  disembowelling  neces- 
sary for  the  embalmment  common  among  Eastern  peo- 
ple, or  any  other  mode  of  treating  the  bodies  of  their 
dead  than'  burial,  —  yet  craved  the  solace  of  fragrant 
obsequies,  and  were   accustomed  to  wrap  them   with 
fine  linen  in  spices,  which  were  sometimes  burned  in 
great  quantities.     So,  as  Joseph  had  the  honor  of  giv- 
ing  the   tomb,   Nicodemus   brings  the   perfumes,   not 
less  than  a  hundred-pound  weight  of  myrrh  and  aloes, 
—  a    costly,    even    magnificent    provision,  —  such    as 
would  have  been  made  for  a  person  of  highest  rank ; 
and    together,  the    true-hearted  Marys    standing    by 
if  not   assisting   them,  they  wind  the  body  in  linen 
cloths  with  the  spices,  hoping  to  do  it  farther  honor 
when  the  Sabbath  had  passed  by.     So  they  laid  him  in 
the  rocky  tomb,  causing  its  door  to  be  closed  by  a  great 
stone  rolled  into  its  mouth  ;  and  there  in  a  garden  the 
second  Adam  rested  in  death,  as  in  a  garden  death  had 
come  upon  the  first.     But  the   wretched,  persecuting 
Sanhedrim,  though  they  could  not  oppose  Pilate  in  his 
grant  of  Joseph's  request,  are  not  satisfied  ;  and  the  next 
day  demand  of  the  Procurator  that  the  sepulchre  should 
be  made  sure  until  the  third  day,  lest  his  disciples  might 
come  and  steal  the  body,  and  so  claim  that  Chnst's  own 
prophecy  of  rising  on  the  third  day  was  fulfilled.      Pi- 
late, out  of  patience  with  their  wicked  pertinacity,  tells 
them  to  use  their  own  watch-guard,  which  was  a  body 
of  sixty   soldiers   assigned  to  guard   the  temple,  and 
make  as  sure  as  they  can.      They,  therefore,  seal  the 
stone,  so  that  any  movement  of  it  might  be  detected, 
and  set  sentinels  to  prevent  any  entrance.      It  is  not 
necessary  to  believe  as  some  do  (Theophylact  and  otli- 


ers)  that  the  whole  of  the  temple  guard  were  put  to 
the  service ;  but  the  Jews  had  it  in  their  power  to  em- 
ploy all  that  was  sufficient,  and  doubtless  did.  How 
did  God,  through  their  own  act  and  intention  to  frus- 
trate the  truth  of  Jesus,  thus  provide  for  their  discom- 
fiture and  our  assurance ! 

The  death  of  the  Saviour  is  even  yet  more  certain. 
How  could  he,  even  if  his  wounds  were  not  mortal, 
have  survived  the  enrolment  of  his  head  and  person  so 
closely  ?  —  or  his  confinement  within  the  rock-bound  cell 
whose  entrance  was  so  entirely  sealed  ?  Or  how  could 
his  terror-stricken  friends,  against  all  these  precautions, 
have  abstracted  the  mangled  body,  and  restored  him  to 
the  full,  vigorous  life  in  which  he  appeared  on  the  day 
of  his  resurrection  ? 

2.  Neither,  without  his  burial,  would  all  the  prophe- 
cies respecting  his  work  for  us  have  been  fulfilled. 
Until  then,  though  he  had  had  his  place  with  the 
wicked,  he  had  rest  with  the  rich  in  his  death;* 
neither  was  there  opportunity  for  the  Father  to  ransom 
his  chosen  from  the  power  of  the  grave,  and  over  the 
grave  give  him  the  victory.  These  prophecies  are, 
however,  so  connected  with  what  has  been  already- 
said,  and  will  be  said  hereafter,  that  we  may  refrain 
from  farther  reference  to  them  now. 

3.  But  what  comfort  and  hope  is  off*ered  to  our 
hearts  as  we  linger  with  the  weeping  women  before  the 
door  of  the  Saviour's  tomb  !  We  need  not  be  pilgrims 
to  the  Holy  Land  for  this  ;  our  faith  in  the  blessed 
Evangelists  brings  us  to  the  scene.  How  calmly,  how 
quietly,  he  rests  within  !     They  have  done  unto  him 

♦  A  grave  was  appointed  for  him  with  the  wicked,  but  with  the  rich  man 
was  his  tomb  (high  place).  —  Is.  liii.  9. 


884 


CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.     [Lect.  XVIH. 


r 


wliatsoe^feffiey  listed,  but  they  cannot  reach  him  now 
with  their  savage  cries,  and  brutal  insults,  and  merci- 
less tortures.     They  have  driven  him  out  of  the  world 
which  he  made  for  them,  so  fair  and  beautiful ;  out  of 
his  own  Jerusalem,  which  he  had  loved  so  well,  and 
wept  over  with  so  fond  a  pity ;  out  of  the  mortal  life 
which  he  had  made  so  lovely  by  his  innocence,  and  so 
beneficent  by  his  miracles,  and  so  eloquent  of  truth  by 
his  teachings,  and  so  full  of  promise  to  the  sorrowful 
by  his  tears,  and  to  the  penitent  by  his  prayers.     Oh, 
what  a  darkness  was  that  when  the  sun  hid  his  face 
from  the  murder  of  the  Holy  One,  and  the  convulsed 
earth  quaked  in  sympathy  with  her  Maker  !     What  a 
night  was  that  when  the  stars  looked  down  on  the 
world,  whose  Saviour  and  Lord  lay  dead  and  buried. 
Think  of  the  poor  disciples,  shrunk  into  hiding-places 
like  timorous  sheep  whose  shepherd  is  slain,  and  of  the 
broken-hearted  women,  loving  without  hope,  but  faithful 
in  their  despair  !      Yet  the  sufferer  is  at  rest.      He 
sleeps.     His  labors  are  done,  his  pains  are  past,  his 
enemies  have  accomplished  their  worst ;  his  last  cry 
was  the  escape  of  his  spirit,  and  his  dear,  holy,  mangled 
flesh  awaits  in  peace  a  speedy  awakening  far  beyond 
sorrow  and  ignominy,  within  the  glory  of  his  better 
world,  where  all  the  heavenly  host  will  acclaim  him  an 
infinite  homage,  because  the  signatures  of  the  cross 
attest  him  the  Lamb  that  was  slain.     Odors,  fragrant 
and  rich,  fill  the  air,  as  the  spices  breathe  their  honors 
around  him,  and  the  flowers  of  the  garden  are  redolent 
through  the  dews.     All  is  as  sweet  as  it  is  calm.     O 
faithful  Master,  thanks  be  to  thee,  that  thou  didst  not 
refuse  to  lie  do^n  in  the  grave  !     The  grave  is  gloomy 
and  cold  and  sad,  —  the  disgrace  of  our  humanity,  the 


lACT.  XVIIL]     CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.  335 

hiding-place  of  our  shame.  Disguise  it  as  we  mav 
with  marbles  and  epitaphs,  and  graceful  trees,  and  mZ 
mer-blooms,  and  evergreens,  till  it  looks  like  a  palace- 
garden,  it  is  yet  the  place  of  silence,  darkness,  and 
corruption ;  nature  revolts  from  the  thought,  nor  can 
philosophy  cure  us  of  the  shudder,  for  reason  justi- 

"  To  lie  in  cold  obstruction  and  to  rot, 
This  sensible,  warm  motion  to  become 
A  kneaded  clod  — 

•     't  is  too  horrible  ! " 

But  oh,  how  sad  it  is  when  we  are  forced  to  carry 
there  and  put  deep  within  its  shades,  away  from  our 
touch,  and  sight,  and  care,  the  dear  forms  in  which  the 
beloved  of  our  hearts, -the  good,  the  kind,  the  true, 
have   lived   but   live   no   longer  ;    the   pleasant  faces 
through  which  their  souls  shone  on  us,  the  bosoms  that 
yearned  for  us,  the  hands  that  ministered  to  our  com- 
fort,  the  limbs  active  in  serving  our  faintest  wish,  —  to 
he  out  amidst  loathsome  damps,  under  the  beatings  of 
the  storm,  and  the  winter's  snows,  because  they  are 
dust  and  to  dust  they  must  return  !     Yet,  how  changed    " 
IS  the  sepulchre  since  we  have  followed  in  his  funeral, 
and  seen  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay !     He  is  not 
there  now,  —  he  is  risen ;  but  he  has  been  there;  the 
fragrance  yet  fills  the  tomb  ;  the  garden  still  blossoms 
around  it :  as,  in  the  beginning,  he,  by  his  own  rest, 
made  the  Sabbath  a  rest  for  our  souls,  so  has  he,  by  his 
own  burial,  made  the  grave,  a  rest  for  the  bodies  of  his 
people.     There  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  them  ; 
there  they  have  a  refuge  from  temptation,  from  tears 
and  sin ;  there  the  High  Priest  of  our  profession  has 
set  a  company  of  the  guard  from  the  heavenly  temple 


■ 


a 


886  CHRIST'S  DEATH  ANU  MJJBIAL.       [L«ct.  XVIH. 

to  watch  their  sleeping  dust -his  own  seal  is  on  the 
door —  and  in  his  own  time,  when  all  the  mortality, 
and    dishonor,    and    corniption,   and    weakness,   have 
crumbled  away,  will  he  roll  back  the  stone  from  its 
mouth,  and  they  shall  come  forth  immortal,  glorious, 
incorruptible,  and  full  of  power,  to  enter  upon  the  king- 
dom where  he  is  now  gone  to  prepare  places  for  them. 
Oh  I  now  we  know  what  our  church  means  when  it 
bids  us  say  that,  though  Christ  has  died  for  our  sins,  we 
must  also  die.     Death  and  the  grave  are  no  longer  the 
penalty  and  the  disgrace  of  our  nature.     Christ  hath 
taken  out  the   sting  from  death,  the  victory  he   has 
wrested  from  the  grave  ;    and  now  death  to  all  who 
believe  is  the  abolishing  of  sin,  the  grave  a  passage  to 
*  eternal  life.     The  pious  dead  are  not  lost :  they  only 
sleep  in  Jesus, —a  blessed  sleep  from  which  he  is  coming 
to  awake  them.    He  has  taken  up  their  spirits  now  to  the 
Father  who  took  up  his  ;  and  he  will  once  more  descend 
in  the  latter  day  to  the  earth,  that  he  may  restore  their 
full  humauiQf  to  paradise, -far  more  lovely  than  that 
the  tempter  entered,  where  no  enemy  nor  ill  can  reach 
them  forever.     O  spirit  of  the  Holy  One,  who  didst 
inoint  Christ  with  grace  for  his  death  and  burial,  pre- 
pare us  for  ours,  that  we  may  follow  him  with  the 
countless  train  of  those  who,  through  faith  and  pa- 
tience, inherit  the  promises !    Then  shall  death  be  to  us 
a  gain  unspeakable,  and  the   grave  a  welcome  rest 
We  need  rest,  O  Lord,  for  we  are  often  weary ;  and,  it 
t  please  thee,  we  would  not  bear  our  burden  long. 

"  We  would  not  live  alway,  thus  fettered  by  sin, 
Temptation  without,  and  corruption  within  ; 
Where  the  rapture  of  pardon  is  mingled  with  fears, 
And  the  cup  of  thanksgiving  with  penitent  tears. 


Lect.  XVni.J       CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.  387 

We  would  not  live  alway  —  no,  welcome  the  tomb ; 
Since  Jesus  hath  lain  there  we  dread  not  its  «rloom  • 
There  sweet  be  our  rest,  till  he  bid  us  arise. 
To  hail  him  in  triumph  descending  the  skies." 

But  we  had  wellnigh  anticipated  what  we  proposed 
to  treat  of — 

Thirdly  :  T^ie  benefits  we  receive  from  Christ's  deoQi 
and  burial. 

The  Catechism  says  "further  benefits,"  because  it 
lias  already  made  us  dwell  largely  on  the  benefits  of 
Christ's  sacrifice  ;  but  we  shall  briefly  recapitulate,  and 
add  to  these  stated  in  the  present  answer  (43d),  those 
given  in  the  44th,  as  taught  in  our  Lord's  descent  to 
hell. 

1.  Christ  as  our  infinite  surety  has  borne  the  wrath 
of  God  for  all  who  believe  on  his  name.     When  the 
Father  accepted  the  substitute,  he  did  it  under  covenant 
to  release  those  whom  Jesus  represented.     He  took  the 
guilt  of  their  sins  from  them  in  the  very  act  by  which 
he  laid  it  on  the  sinless  elder  brother.     So,  when  he 
paid  the  penalty,  they  paid  it ;  when  he  was  stricken  of 
God  it  was  with  their  stripes ;  when  he  was  crucified 
they  were  crucified  with  him ;  when  he  died  they  died 
in  him ;  when  he  was  buried  he  sanctified  the  grave  for 
them  ;    and  so,  also,   when  the  Father   received   his 
spirit,  and  raised  him  from  the  dead,  in  sure  token  that 
justice  was  satisfied  and  heaven  opened  for  the  atoner, 
the  Father  accepted  them,  adopted  them  as  his  sons 
and  daughters,  assured  them  of  deliverance  from  eternal 
death,  set  open  wide  the  gate  of  heaven  for  their  spirits 
when  they  leave  the  body,  and  for  their  bodies  after  the 
purification  of  the  grave  which  Christ  has  made  fra- 
grant with  holy  peace.     How  certain,  then,  is  the  salva- 


CHRISrS  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.       [Lbct.  XVIII. 

tion  of  the  Christian,  snice  justice  and  mercy  with 
interlinking  arms  stand  pleading  for  him  before  the 
throne  on  which  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  sits  at  the 
right  hand  of  God  ! 

2.  The  sympathy  of  our  Lord  with  his  people  is 
entire.  "In  that  he  himself  hath  suffered,  being 
tempted,  he  is  able  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted." 
He  has  not  only  the  power  but  the  knowledge  from 
experience  to  apply  the  power  ;  and  as,  in  the  language 
of  the  New  Testament,  temptation  and  trial  are 
synonymous,  one  word  in  the  original  representing 
both,  his  sympathizing  grace  covers  all  the  experience 
of  the  Christian ;  for  there  is  no  form  of  trial  through 
wKch  the  Christian  can  be  made  to  pass  that  he  did 
not  pass  through  on  his  way  to  victory  and  rest 

All  that  we  ordinarily  call  temptations, — the  motives, 
arguments,  and  provocations  to  sin,  to  which  we  are 
exposed  during  our  mortal  life  in  this  worid,  he  knew ; 
we  have  a  notable  example  of  this  in  the  conflict  he 
had  with  the  devil  immediately  after  his  unction  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  All  that  we  ordinarily  call  trials,  —  our 
sicknesses,  our  pains,  our  persecutions,  our  wrongs  from 
the  false  judgments,  and  slanders,  and  oppositions  of 
men,  our  sorrows  for  those  we  love  in  their  sicknesses, 
and  deaths  and  burials,  —  we  know  that  he  knew  from 
the  record  of  the  evangelical  witnesses. 

So  far  as  his  innocent  spirit  could  feel  the  anguish 
and  self-abhorrence  and  shame  of  sin,  he  knew  what 
the  penitent  suffers  when,  under  the  thunderings  of  the 
law,  he  trembles  and  avows  his  guilt ;  for  all  his  IsraeFs 
sins  were  gathered  around  his  soul,  compassing  his 
spirit  about,  hiding  his  Father's  face  from  him,  causing 
him  to  shrink  with  horror  from  the  vile  contact,  and 


Lect.  XVIII.]       CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.  389 

pressing  on  his  mediatorial  conscience  the  fact  that  the 
punishment  he  bore  was  just.     Nay,  those  very  doubts 
which  oftentimes  assail  the  believer's  mind,  causing  him 
to  shrink  from  duty,  to  fear  the  future  set  before^'him 
and  even  to  think  that  God  has  foi-saken  him,  assaulted 
the  humanity  of  Jesus.     "  Now,"  saith  he,  at  one  time, 
"  is  my  soul  troubled,  and  what  shall  I  say  ?     Father 
save  me  from  this  hour."     What  else  was  that  agony 
in  the  garden,  when  he  prayed :  "  Father,  if  it  be°pos- 
sible  let  this  cup  pass  from  me  I  "  and  ''there  appeared 
an  angel  unto  him  from  heaven  strengthening  him  ? " 
And  how  else  can  we  understand  that  bitter^'cry  out 
of  the  thick  darkness,  "  My  God  !  my  God  !  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me  ?  "     There  could  not  be  a  single  form 
of  pain,  or  anguish  of  body  or  soul,  that  follows*  sin,  of 
which  the  Redeemer,  who  took  the  cup  filled  with  our 
deserts,  did  not  taste ;  and  this  is  what  the  Catechism 
declares  when  it  says  (44th),  that  "  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  during  all  his  suflTerings,  but  especially  on  the 
cross,  was  plunged  in  inexpressible  anguish,  pains,  ter- 
rors  and  hellish  agonies,"  that  he  might  dehver  us  from 
the  anguish  and  torments  of  hell. 

Here  then,  believer, -^  tempted,  afflicted,  weak  and 
trembling,  is  there  full  comfort  for  you.  The  Master 
knows  your  trials  and  your  infirmity.  Only  imitate 
his  steadfastness,  —  be  faithful  to  him  as  he  was  to  you ; 
and  he  who  received  a  gift  of  strength  from  on  high  to 
go  through  his  passion,  will  send  yon  strengtli  accord- 
ing as  your  day. 

3.  For  there  is  here  a  promise  of  sanctification.  He 
crucified  our  old  nature  when  the  body  he  took  on  him, 
out  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  was 


II 

» 1 


390 


CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.       [Lect.  XVIH. 


LEcr.  XVIII.]      CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 


891 


crucified.     There  in  his  death,  the  tyrannous  power  of 
sin,  by  which  the  devil  holds  captive  the  impenitent, 
was  broken  from  his  people  ;  and  in  his  grave  he  finally 
buried  the  mortal  flesh  that  he  might  raise  it  in  new- 
ness of  life,  holy  and  eternal.     Thus  has  he  promised 
to  quicken  from  their  death  in  trespasses  and  sins,  all 
who  by  faith  are  crucified  with  him,  with  him  die,  and 
with  him  are  buried.     As  he  was  raised  up  to  heaven, 
80  shall  they,  even  in  this  life,  be  raised  up  to  sit  with 
him  in  heavenly  places :  privileges  so  like  heaven,  that 
the    apostle   can  give  them    no  less    an  epithet   than 
••heavenly."      Yet,  this   grace  is  only  vouchsafed  to 
those  who,  relying  on  the  working  of  God  in  them, 
work  out  with  fear  and  trembling  their  own  salvation. 
But,  believer,  what  a  motive  as  well  as  encouragement 
is  here  ?     What  so  separates  a  man  from  the  world  as 
death  and  burial  ?     Yet  so,  by  our  profession  of  repre- 
sentation in  Christ,  do  we  profess  to  have  died  with  the 
world  of  sin,  and  to  have  put  off  our  old  man  with  its 
affections  and  lusts.     We  are  not  dead  with  him,  if  we 
be  not  buried  with  him.     We  have  not  been  buried 
with  him,  if  we  be  not  risen  with  him.     Our  true  life, 
our  Christian  life,  now  lies  on  the  other  side  of  the 
gi'ave  as  to  its  affections  and  aims  and  delights.     "  If 
ye,  then,  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things  which 
are  above."    All  our  motives  and  rules  must  be  brought 
by  us  from  heaven,  "  into  which  the  Forerunner  has 
for  us  entered."     "  Truly,"  says  an  apostle,  "  our  con- 
versation is  in  heaven."     Yes,  beloved  brethren,  this  is 
the  grace  into  which  we  profess  to  stand,  who  profess 
by  our  Lord  Jesus  to  have    received  the  atonement. 
We  cannot  go  back  to  the  world  except  we  trample 


over  the  grace  of  Jesus,  and  reject  the  arguments  of 
his  cross. 

O  Son  of  the  Highest,  remember  us  on  thy  throne  I 
Thou  hast  vanquished  sin  for  us  in  the  atonement  of 
thy  death  ;  now  vanquish  sin  in  us  by  the  intercession 
of  thy  life ! 


LECTURE  XIX. 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


If 


SIXTEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

THE  DESCENT  INTO   HELL. 

"  He  descended  into  hell." 

T^HIS  article  of  our  creed,  which,  because  of  its  pecul- 
iar interest,  requires  a  closer  study  than  we  could 
give  it  when  considering,  on  a  late  occasion,  the  lesson 
for  the  Sixteenth  Lord's  Day,  should  be  approached 
with  cautious  modesty,  as  it  has  been  so  disputed  over 
by  theologians  of  the  highest  rank,  that  an  attempt  to 
determine  the  truth  among  their  widely  different  views 
would  be  presumptuous,  if  we  liad  not  a  "  more  sure 
word  of  prophecy."      Rejecting,  as  we  do,  the  prepos- 
terous notion  which  the  papists  have  adopted  from  the 
good  but  fanciful  Bishop  of  Milan  (St.  Ambrose),— 
all  theftithers  before  him  saying  nothing  of  the  kind,— 
that  the  creed  was  composed  by  the  inspired  apostles,  we 
cannot  receive  any  dogma  it  contains  on  less  authority 
than  divine  Scripture  ;  yet,  since  we  have  adopted  it  as 
the  symbol  of  our  catholic,  evangelical  belief,  we  must 
understand  its  articles  "  according  to  the  proportion  (or 
rather  analogy)  *  of  faith,"  as  the  apostle  calls  the 
consistency  of  Christian  doctrine. 

But,  First  :  it  should  be  noted  that  the  descent  into 
hell  is  not  found  as  a  separate,  distinct  article  of  the  ear- 
lier creeds.  In  the  Nicene  (A.  D.  325)  we  read: 
"  He  suffered,  and  was  buried,  and  the  third  day  he  rose 
again," — the  descent  into  hell  not  being  inserted ;  in  that 

*  (iva^yiav  r^f  marsi^.  —  Rom.  xii.  6. 


396 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


[Lect.  XIX. 


!i 


valgarly  attributed  to  Athanasius  (A.  D.  333)  we  read  : 
"  Who  suffered  for  our  salvation,  descended  into  hell, 
rose  again  the  third  day  from  the  dead,"  —  the  burial 
beincr  omitted ;  from  which  comparison  it  would  seem 
that  the  two  phrases  were  then  thought  to  be  synony- 
mous. But  nearly  all  the  learned,  outside  the  papal 
ranks,  deny  that  Athanasius  wrote  the  formula  called 
by  his  name.  Waterland,  on  strong  grounds,  ascribes 
it  to  Hihuy  (Bishop)  of  Aries,  which  would  bring  it  a 
century  later ;  and  certainly  it  was  not  known  through 
the  charch  until  the  close  of  the  sixth.  Rufinus, 
Bishop  of  Aquileia  *  (a  great  city  in  the  Venetian  ter- 
ritory), says  that  his  church  had  both  articles  in  its 
creed,  but  that  the  Roman  and  Eastern  churches  had 
only  the  burial ;  and  he  thought  that  the  two  meant 
the  same  thing,!  one,  perhaps,  being  explanatory  of  the 
other,  if  not  a  jnere  expletive.  It  is  not  known  at 
what  time  they  came  to  be  interpreted  distinctly, 
thouf^h  Erasmus  thought  that  it  began  with  Thomas 
Aquinas  {circa  1305)  ;  but,  undoubtedly,  some  opinions 
now  held  respecting  our  Lord's  descent  into  hell  were 
promulged  at  an  early  period.  Witsius  (the  noble  doc- 
tor of  our  mother-church)  cites  the  historian  Socrates, 
to  show  that  a  company  of  about  fifty  Arians  at  Con- 
stantinople (A.  D.  359)  published  a  creed  which  says: 
"  He  was  cmcified,  and  died,  and  was  buried  and  pene- 
trated (hiek-qkvBoTo)  into  parts  beneath  the  earth  (Kara- 
X^ona),  at  whom  hell  (a8»?5)  itself  was  struck  with  ter- 
ror." But  Witsius  might  have  found  in  the  same  his- 
torian a  creed  rejected  by  the  council  of  Ariminum 
CRimini),  who  deposed  the  Arian  bishops  J  that  had 

•  Nona  inter  claras,  Aquileia,  urbes.  —  Au»oniu$. 

f  Vis  tamen  verbi  eadem  videtur  esse  in  eo  quod  sepultus  dicitur. 

X  Ursatius  and  Valens. 


LiEO?,  XIX.] 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


397 


presented  it  (A.  D.  356),  which  has  these  expressions: 
•'  Was  crucified  and  died,  and  descended  into  parts 
infernal,  and  set  in  order  what  was  to  be  done  there, 
at  (the  sight  of)  whom  the  doorkeepers  of  hell  trem- 
bled."* &uch  language  intends  considerably  more 
than   mere  burial. 

We  are  careful  to  observe  these  historical  facts, 
because  they  prove  that  the  insertion  of  the  article, 
"  He  descended  into  hell,"  as  meaning  more  than  his 
burial,  was  made  by  heretics ;  f  and  that,  though  now  the 
papists  connect  with  it  their  doctrine  of  purgatory,  and 
kindred  follies,  the  creed  of  the  early  church  had  noth- 
ing between  the  burial  and  the  resurrection.  The  de- 
scent into  hell  is  in  the  creed  of  the  church  of  Rome 
now.  How  it  got  there  nobody  knows,  but  it  certainly 
was  not  before  the  fifth  century,  probably  not  until  lono- 
after.  ^ 

Secondly  :  It  is,  nevertheless,  a  scriptural  fact  that 
our  Lord  descended  into  hell,  as  we  learn  from  a  colla- 
tion of  Psalm  xvi.  9,  10,  11,  with  Acts  ii.  23-32.     In 
the  psalm  we  read  :   "  My  flesh  also  shall  rest  in  hope  ; 
for  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell,  neither  wilt 
thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption.      Thou 
wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life."     In  the  other  scripture, 
the  apostle  Peter  at  the  Pentecost  says :  "  Him  (Jesus 
of  Nazareth)  by  wicked  hands  ye  have  crucified  and 
slain ;  whom   God  hath  raised  up,  having  loosed  the 
pains   of  death,  because   it    was  not  possible  that  he 
should  be  holden  of  it.      For  David  speaketh  concern- 
ing him :  I  foresaw  the  Lord  always  before  my  face ; 

*  Not  having  the  Greek  at  hand,  I  quote  the  English  translation,  foL 
Cambridge,  1683,  p.  272. 

t  At  Seleucia,  Acacius  withdrew  the  passages,  hut  no  doubt  from  craft, 
as  he  restored  them  at  Constantinople. 


h  I 


.1^:1 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


[Lkct.  XIX. 


for  he  IS  on  my  right  hand,  that  I  should  not  be  moved. 
Therefore  did  my  heart  rejoice,  and  my  tongue  was 
glad  ;  moreover,  also,  my  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope : 
because  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell,  neither 
wilt  thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption. 
Thou  hast  made  known  to  me  the  ways  of  life ;  thou 
shalt  make  me  full  of  joy  with  thy  countenance.  Men 
and  brethren,  let  me  freely  speak  unto  you  of  the  pa- 
triarch David,  that  he  is  both  dead  and  buried,  and  his 
icpnfcfire  ii  with  us  unto  this  day.  Therefore,  being  a 
prophet,  and  knowing  that  God  had  sworn  with  an 
oath  to  him,  that  of  the  fruit  of  his  loins  he  would 
raise  il|l  Christ  to  sit  on  his  throne ;  he,  seeing  this 
before,  spake  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  that  his 
•mil  mis  not  left  ill  bell,  neither  his  flesh  did  see  cor- 
ruption. This  Jesus  hath  God  raised  up,  whereof  we 
all  are  witnesses."  Thus  the  apostle,  as  well  as  the 
psalmist,  in  saying  that  our  Lord  was  not  left  in  hell, 
implies  that  he  had  been  there  ;  and  since  we  must 
lnjllere  tfie  words  of  Scripture,  we  should  rightly  un- 
derstand what  those  words  mean. 

1»  The  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  originals  have  each 
two  words  of  different  signification,  to  render  which 
our  translators  had  but  the  one  word,  helL  The  He- 
fcl*w  has  gahenna  (jOi'^TV^)  and  sheol  (biWi?)  :  gehenna 
sicnifvincr  the  place  where  the  wicked  after  death  are 
in  fiery  torment,  or  hell  in  the  present  sense  of  that 
word  among  us ;  sheol  signifying  the  region  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  but  most  frequently  the 
place  of  the  dead,  or  the  grave  —  though  in  a  few  texts, 
ly  a  natural  figure,  destruction.  Sheol^  not  gehenna, 
is  the  word  in  the  psalm :  "  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my 
soul  in  sheol^^^  i,  e,  in  the  place  or  state  of  the  dead,  or 


i!  f 
1 1 


Lbcjt.  XIX.J  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


899 


the  grave.  The  writers  of  the  New  Testament  adopted 
gehenna  from  the  Hebrew,  and  use  it  to  signify  the  place 
of  future  punishment  (ycWa,  rendered  throughout  our 
translation  by  hell;)  but  whenever  they  speak  of  the 
state  or  place  of  the  dead,  they  use  the  word  hades 
(aSrj^)  as  equivalent  to  sJieol  Thus  Luke  in  the  para- 
ble has:  "The  rich  man  also  died  and  was  buried; 
and  in  (hades)  hell,  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  tor- 
ments, and  seeth  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus  in  his 
bosom."  Both  were  in  hades,  or  the  state,  —  place,  if 
you  will,  — of  the  dead;  but  one  in  torments,  the 
other  a  great  way  off,  in  Abraham's  bosom.  Through- 
out our  English  Vulgate,  hades  is  rendered  by  hetl,* 
except  in  1  Corinthians  xv.  55,  where  we  have  grave: 
"  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave  (hades), 
where  is  thy  victory  ?  "  Rades  is  the  word  in  Peter's 
citation  of  the  psalm. 

Thus  neither  the  psalmist  nor  the  apostle  says  that 
our  Lord  went  into  the  place  of  punishment,  but  the 
contrary ;  as  otherwise  the  reasoning  of  Peter  w^ould 
be  that  David  had  gone  to  torment,  and  is  there  still,— 
a  conclusion  from  which  every  one  would  shrink. 

2.  Then,  again,  the  Hebrew  word  rendered  soul, 
nephesh  (tt?.;^),  does  not  necessarily,  nor  even  radically, 
signify  what  we  understand  by  soul,  —  the  spiritual, 
moral  part  of  man.  Its  primary  sense  is  breath,  or  the 
life,  whether  of  man  or  beast.  Nay,  there  are  passages 
where  it  signifies  a  corpse  or  exanimate  body,  as  Hag- 
gai  ii.  13 :  "  If  one  that  is  unclean  by  a  dead  body^" 
(nephesh)  ;  and  Lev.  xix.  28 :  "  Thou  shalt  not  make 

•  There  is  no  doubt  that  hell  has  both  the  senses:  the  place  of  punish- 
ment, and  the  place  of  the  dead,  -  the  last  the  primary  one.  Holle  (G.), 
hell;  hohle  (G.),  hole.  Hence  the  common  people  associate  hell  with 
gloomy  caverns,  —  hell-gate,  hell's-raouth,  devil's  chimney,  etc.,  etc. 


■>n' 


in 


400 


DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


[Lect.  XIX. 


any  cuttings  in  your  flesh  for  flie  deaf**  (nephesli). 
So,  also,  xxi. ;  but  especially  Numbers  vi.  6  :  "  All  the 
days  that  he  separateth  himself  to  the  Lord,  he  shall 
come  at  no  dead  body  "  (nephesK),  Thus  we  might 
consistently  translate  it  in  the  psalm  :  *'  My  flesh  also 
shall  rest  in  hope  ;  for  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  body  in 
the  grave,  neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see 
corruption.'*  For  the  most  part,  however,  nephesh  is 
used  as  the  word  person  by  us :  that  which  presents  the 
idea  of  the  man  to  us ;  as  we  say,  "  there  were  so  many 
persons  present,"  or,  so  many  souls  were  there ;  and, 
** not  a  soul,"  or,  "  not  a  person  was  present."  It  is, 
in  fact,  a  frequent  orientalism  for  the  personal  pro- 
nouns ;  so  that  it  would  be  also  consistent  to  read : 
"  Thou  wilt  not  leave  me  in  the  state  of  the  dead." 
Either  of  these  renderings  would  be  justified  by  that 
peculiarity  of  Hebrew  poetry  called  'parallelism^  which 
repeats  in  the  second,  with  some  difference  of  phrase, 
the  idea  of  the  first  line :  "  Thou  wilt  not  leave  me,  or 
my  person,  or  my  body,  in  the  grave ;  nor  wilt  thou 
suffer  thy  Holy  One  to  see  corruption."  Certainly  Holy 
One  can  scarcely  apply  to  an  exanimate  body  merely, 
but  must  refer  to  the  person  whose  body  is  in  the 
grave  ;  for  the  tenn  rendered  Holy  One  in  both  the  lan- 
guages is  not  holy  in  the  sense  of  dedicated,  but  in  the 
absolutely  moral  sense  of  pious,  or  godly;  and  the 
psalmist  would  not  speak  of  a  pious  or  godly  corpse. 

The  apostle's  term  for  soul  (nephesK)  is  ^v^^ :  a  term 
corresponding  to  the  Hebrew  word  in  many  particulars, 
though  not  in  all,  but  certainly,  as  many  passages  from 
the  classics   show,  *  to  the  sense  of  person  ;  and  we 

*  EuripWes,  Helena,  v.  52.     Her.  Furens.  v.  452.     Theocritus,  Id.  xvi. 
94.     C  MulecB, 


Lect.  XIX.  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  401 

should  interpret  it  accordingly.  This  is  in  accordance 
with  the  common  habit  of  language.  Martha  said  of 
her  brother  Lazarus:  "Lord,  by  this  time  he  stinketh, 
for  he  hath  been  dead  four  days."  So  our  Lord  said  : 
"  Where  have  ye  laid  him  ?  "  and  the  apostle  Paul 
(Acts  xiii.  35,  37)  "  Wherefore  he  (David)  saith  also 
m  another  Psalm :  Thou  shalt  not  suflTer  thine  Holy 
(pious)  One  to  see  corruption  ;  but  ^^,  whom  God  raised 
up  again,  saw  no  corruption."  We  see,  therefore,  that 
soul,  here,  does  not  necessarily,  nor  even  probably,  mean 
our  Lord's  spiritual  soul  in  the  first  parallel,  any  more 
than  Holy  One  does  in  the  second. 

This  is  a  fair  critical  interpretation  of  the  passages 
on  which  the  descent  into  hell  is  mainly  founded,  alid 
the  one  admitted  by  the  great  part  of  the  learned,  es- 
pecially  by  all  the  eminent  doctors  of  the  reformed 
churches  from  Calvin  down ;  yet,  since  it  has  obtained 
a  place  in  the  creed  of  the  catholic  church,  a  great 
variety  of  opinions  have  been  given  concerning  it  by 
theologians,  both  Papist  and  Protestant. 

We  shall,  therefore,  state  some  of  these:  first,  those 
of  the  Papists,  and  of  such  as  agree  with  them  partly, 
among  the  Protestants ;  then,  those  of  the  reformed 
churches,  to  whose  communion  by  the  blessing  of  God 
we  belonor.  ' 

L  The  ancient  Jews,  to  whom  "  life  and  immortal- 
ity "  were  not  revealed  as  they  have  since  been  by  the 
gospel,  had  an  indistinct  notion  of  a  great  region 
beneath  the. surface  of  the  ground,  whither  not  only 
the  bodies  of  men  went  (in  burial),  but  their  spirits 
lived  after  death,  —  the  good  in  bliss,  the  wicked  in  mis- 
ery. This  corresponded  with  the  Egyptian  and  classi- 
cal notions :  we  might  say  with  the  universal  idea  of 

VOL.   I.  ofl 


26 


'^Hii'" 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


[Lect.  XIX. 


cultivated  nitlbns.  Men  at  death  were  said  to  descend, 
—  go  down  somewhere,  ("  Facilis  descensus  "  "  ad  infe- 
ros,^^^  The  neo-platonic  philosophers,  who  were  in 
full  force  at  Alexandria  during  the  earlier  Christian 
centuries,  and  mingled  Greek  with  Egyptian  doctrines, 
had,  also,  according  to  their  wont,  adopted  many  myths 
from  the  popular  superstitions,  as  all  the  Orphic  writ- 
ings show.  Some  of  the  fathers,  learned  in  both  Chris- 
tian and  neo-platonic  systems,  but  converted  at  a  time 
of  life  when  few  men  can  wholly  change  their  inveter- 
ate sentiments,  still  less  their  phraseology,  transferred, 
without  any  scriptural  authority,  not  a  few  figments  of 
superstition  to  their  new  faith ;  especially  minMino- 
these  about  the  state  of  the  dead  with  the  Christian 
doctrine.  The  Arians,  sympathizing  with  the  Alexan- 
drian notion  of  the  Logos^  would  be  likely  to  carry 
their  bias  farther.  Hence,  we  are  not  surprised  to 
find  them  (as  has  been  shown)  interpolating  the  creed 
with  their  fancy  respecting  our  Lord's  descent  into 
hades.  The  opinion  obtained  some  favor  even  with  the 
more  orthodox,  as  it  tallied  to  a  certain  extent  with  the 
rabbinical  teachings  that  had  obtained  popular  credence 
among  the  Jews,  and  given  a  tinge  of  language  to  some 
scriptural  passages.  We  have  no  more  respect  for  the 
Kabbins  than  for  the  Hermaic  teachers;  but  we  are 
disposed  to  consider  what  they  quote  who  have  adopted 
their  general  idea.  The  principal  texts  are  these  three  : 
Eph.  iv.  9,  where  it  is  said  that  our  Lord  "  descended 
into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth  ; "  1  Peter  iii.  18,  19, 
20,  where  it  is  said  that  our  Lord  by  the  spirit  went 
and  "  preached  to  the  spirits  in  prison ; "  Luke  xxiii, 
43,  where  our  Lord  said  to  the  penitent  thief,  "  This 
day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise."      Misinterpret- 


Lbct.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


403 


ing  these  texts,  they  divided  the  abode  of  the  dead  — 
sheol,  hades,  hell,  —  into  two  main  parts :  one  the  place 
of  the  pious  ancients  who  believed  in   Messiah,  but 
died  before  his  "  manifestation  to  Israel ; "  the  other, 
the  prison  (gehenna)  of  the  wicked ;  with  some  minor 
partitions  we  need  not  stay  to  describe.      Christ,  said 
they,  descended  to  this   lower  region   first,  to  make 
known  to  the  pious  spirits  his  full  gospel,  that,  through 
faith  m  his  finished  work,  they  might  obtain  full  salva- 
tion, which  they  did  by  rising  with  him  when  he  rose ; 
but,  also,  to  confound  with  his  power  and  glory  the 
devils    and   wicked   souls.      Afterwards,  by   degrees, 
these  notions  were  somewhat  modified  and  enlarged,' 
until  they  composed  out  of  them  the  doctrine  of  purcra' 
toiy,  with  its  kindred  follies ;  which  is,  that  the  spirits 
of  even  Christians  (except  martyrs  and  some  few  oth- 
ers) after  death  need  a  purgation,  or  cleansing  by  fire ; 
and  are,  for  that  purpose,  shut  up  in  suffering  until 
either  sins  are  burned  away,  or  they  are  freed  from  the 
necessity  by  the  prayers  of  the  church,  accompanying 
the  repeated  sacrifices  of  Christ's  body  in   the  mass. 
This  is  what  the  papists  mean  by  saying  masses  for  the 
repose  of  souls.      The  doctrine  of  purgatory  has  been, 
as  is  well  known,  a  most  fruitful  source  of  simoniacal 
gain  and  profit  to  that  artful  mistress  of  abominations, 
who  leaves  no  means  untried  to  subject  mankind  by 
terror  of  her  pretended  authority,  here  and  in  the  next 
world ;  but  time  would  fail  to  give  even  the  briefest 
account  of  the  many  follies  uttered  by  them  in  connec- 
tion with  the  main  dogma.     It  is  remarkable,  however, 
that  it  (the  doctrine  of  purgatory)  was  never  formally 
affirmed   by   the   church    of  Rome   until  the  council 
of  Florence,  1439,  and  has  been  steadily  rejected  by 


404 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


[Lect.  XIX. 


Lect.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


405 


I :  Eastern  churches  of  all  ages.  Strange  that  it 
should  have  taken  thirteen  centuries  for  an  infallible 
church  to  find  out  a  doctrine  of  religion  !  The  immac- 
ulate conception,  however,  lagged  far  behind.  God 
deliver  us  from  such  developments  of  church-life  ! 

There  is,  also,  out  of  the  church  of  Rome,  and  prin- 
cipally (if  not  altogether,  nowadays)  among  high- 
church  Episcopalians,  a  party  more  considerable  for 
learning  than  numbers,  who,  adopting  the  ancient  no- 
tion o£  sheol,  or  hadeSy  contends  that  at  death  neither  the 
fighteous  go  to  heaven^  nor  the  wicked  to  hell  (prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels)  ;  but  that,  until  the  resur- 
rection, the  good  are  in  bliss,  the  wicked  in  torments, 
though  far  apart,  and  that  neither  the  bliss  of  the  one 
nor  the  misery  of  the  other,  will  be  complete  until  the 
soul  is  again  united  to  the  body.  This  region,  or  con- 
dition, intervening  between  the  death  of  the  body  and 
the  resurrection,  they  call,  for  want  of  a  better  term, 
the  separate  state;  because  there  disembodied  souls 
exist  apart  from  living  men  on  earth,  and  from  the 
MIgels  in  heaven. 

It  is  not  easy  to  see  why  this  notion  is  so  much  in- 
sisted upon  ;  as  while,  at  the  best,  its  advocates  are  able 
to  give  but.  a  vague,  shadowy  idea  of  what  they  mean 
by  it,  they  gain  no  practical  benefit  over  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  the  orthodox  who  hold  another  opinion,  but, 
as  we  think,  lose  much  comfort ;  for  all  well-taught 
Christians  believe  that,  though  the  disembodied  soul  of 
the  wicked  man  goes  to  the  hell  of  fire,  and  the  soul  of 
the  pious  man  goes  to  heaven,  at  once,  the  one  will 
receive  a  great  accession  of  misery,  the  other  of  bliss, 
when  souls  are  united  again  to  their  proper  bodies; 
because  then  the  entire  man  will  suffer  or  enjoy  with 


greater  intensity.  But  as  was  said  before,  the  number 
even  of  Episcopalians  holding  this  doctrine  is  compara- 
tively small,  many  of  the  same  creed  opposing  it  stren- 
uously, others  speaking  of  it  very  doubtingly  ;  nor  has 
it  any  place  in  their  articles  or  liturgy  ;  *  and,  as  it  is 
based  on  the  same  texts  as  the  Romish  doctrine  of 
purgatory,  a  due  examination  of  those  texts  will  suffice 
to  refute  both. 

a.  When  the  apostle  in  Ephesians  (iv.  9)  asserts 
that  our  Lord  "  descended  into  the  lower  parts  of  the 
earth,"  he  simply,  according  to  his  Hebraistic  habit  of 
language,  means  to  describe  the  Saviour's  extreme 
humiliation  for  us,  in  submitting  to  poverty  of  life,  the 
shame  of  the  cross,  and  even  to  the  disgraces  of  the 
grave  in  his  burial  under  ground.  He  could  not  as  a 
man  descend  lower.  It  was  from  the  uttermost  depths 
of  human  ignominy  that  he  ascended  to  the  sublimest 
height  of  glory  in  heaven,  bearing  up  with  him  his 
cross-scarred,  once  dead  and  buried  body,  to  the  right 
hand  of  his  Father's  throne. 

h.  The  text  in  1  Peter  (iii.  18,  19),  quoted  to  prove 
that  our  Lord  went  afler  his  death,  and  preached  to  the 
spnuts  in  prison,  teaches  no  such  thing.  For,  if  we 
read  from  the  14th  verse,  we  see  that  the  apostle  is 
exhorting  Christians  to  steadfastness  and  patience  under 

•The  XLth  article  adopted  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  condemns  the 
doctrine  of  the  soul  sleeping  between  death  and  the  resurrection,  but  says 
nothing  about  a  separate  state.     The  expressions  in  the  prayer  of  the 
Burial-Ser>'ice :  "  Almighty  God,  with  whom  do  live  the  spirits  of  them  that 
depart  hence  in  the  Lord,  and  with  whom  the  souls  of  the  faithful,  after 
they  are  delivered  from  the  burden  of  the  flesh  are  in  joy  and  felicity;" 
•  .  .  .  and  that  God  would  hasten  his  kingdom  "  that  all  the  elect  might 
have  their  perfect  consummation  and  bliss  both  in  bodv  and  soul,"  are 
quite  as  much  in  conformity  with  our  opinions,  if  not  more  so,  and  were, 
no  doubt,  like  many  other  things  in  the  book,  adopted,  at  the  farthest,  as  a 
compromise  of  sentiments  on  things  not  essential. 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


[Lect.  XIX. 


L«CT.  XIX.J  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


40T 


calumny  and  persecution  :  "  If  ye  suffer  for  righteous- 
ness' sake,  happy  are  ye,  and  be  not  afraid  of  their  ter- 
ror, neither  be  troubled  ;  but  sanctify  the  Lord  God  in 
your  hearts ;  and  be  ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to 
every  man  that  asketh  you  a  reason  of  the  hope  that 
is  in  you,  with  meekness  and  fear ;  having  a  good  eon- 
science ;  .  .  .  .  for  it  is  better,  if  the  will  of  God  be 
so,  that  ye  suffer  for  well-doing  than  for  evil-doing." 
Then,  to  encourage  them  in  this  patient  steadfastness, 
lie  gives  two  examples  of  fidelity  and  deliverance: 
•*  For  Christ  also  hath  once  suffered  for  sins,  the  just 
for  the  unjust,  that  he  might  bring  us  to  God ;  being 
put  to  death  in  the  flesh,"  —  persecuted  to  that  last  ex- 
tremity, —  "  but,"  not  abandoned  by  God,  "  quickened 
by  the  Spirit,  even  by  the  Holy  Ghost  w^ho  raised  him 
gloriously ; "  then  again  :  "  by  which,"  the  same  Spirit 
which  moved  him  to  his  mission  of  suffering  and  mercy, 
and  delivered  him  triumphantly,  "also  he  went  and 
preached  unto  the  spirits  in  prison,  which  sometime 
were  disobedient,  when  once  the  long-suffering  of  God 
waited  in  the  days  of  Noah  while  the  ark  was  a  i)repar- 
ipg,  wherein  few,  that  is,  eight  souls,  were  saved  by 
water."  He  did  preach  to  the  spirits  in  prison,  but 
not  when  they  were  in  prison,  neither  did  he  go  per- 
sonally after  his  death  to  preach  to  them  :  he  preached 
to  them  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  Noah,  when  they  were 
living  on  earth  at  the  time  the  ark  was  a  preparing ; 
for  the  neglect  of  whose  warnings  they  were  drowned, 
and  cast  into  the  prison  of  hell  where  they  have  been 
ever  since,  as  they  were  at  the  time  Peter  wrote. 
Christ,  in  Noah,  by  his  Spirit,  preached  to  them  before 
the  flood,  just  as  in  his  ministers  he  preaches  to  us  by 
bis  Spirit  now. 


Noah,  acting  under  the  influence  of  this  Spirit  of 
Christ  as  a  preacher  of  truth,  suffered  many  trials,  but 
was  delivered  out  of  them  all  in  the  ark  which  bore 
him  safely  over  the  waters  that  submerged  the  wicked 
to   hell.     Now,   reasons  the  apostle,   "the  like  figure 
(that  is,  the  ark  on  the  water)  whereunto,  even  baptism, 
doth  also  now  save  us  "  who  are  suffering  persecutions 
by  making  us  one  with  Christ  —  "  baptism  (not  [like 
circumcision  which  was]  the  putting  away  of  the  filth 
of  the  flesh  but  [see  verses  15,  16]  the  answer  of  a  good 
consciefice  toward  God,)  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ,"  which  is  the  earnest  of  our  eternal,  complete 
redemption.     This  is  the  only  view  of  the  passage  that 
will  connect  its  several  parts  from  the  14th  verse  to  the 
end ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  fitness  be- 
tween Christian  steadfastness,  which  is    the  apostle's 
theme,  and  Christ's  preaching  to  souls  in  purgatory. 
There  are  other  good  reasons  against  the  papistical  in- 
terpretation, but  what  has  been  said  is  sufficient. 

c.  It   has   also   been  contended   that   the  Paradise 
into  which  (Luke   xxiii.  43)  our  Lord  promised  the 
penitent  thief  admission  with  himself,  the  very  day  they 
died,  must  be  some  other  place  than  heaven,  and,  there- 
fore, the  separate  place  of  faithful  souls.     We  cannot 
allow  either  supposition  ;  but  see  the  contrary.     By  sin 
man  lost  paradise,  where  he  had  enjoyed  the  favor  of 
God,  and  was  driven  out  of  it ;  and,  now  that  our  Lord 
had  expiated  sin  for  the  restoration  of  his  people  to 
divine  favor,  what  more  natural  or  appropriate  than  to 
call   the   state  of  his   people's   recovered    blessedness, 
paradise?      What   more  in   harmony  with  the  great 
truth  than  that  he,  as  the  second  Adam,  should,  his 
work  of  salvation  being  finished,  reenter  paradise  as 


It  1 


408 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


[Lect.  XIX. 


the  head  of  his  new  race,  taking,  as  a  trophy  of  his 
merits  and  as  an  earnest  of  his  church,  the  converted 
malefactor  into  its  holy,  blissful  beauty  ?  We  cannot 
imagine  a  better  name  for  the  heaven  of  the  recovered 
humanity,  than  paradise.  Why  should  there  not  be 
a  second  paradise  when  there  is  a  second  Adam  ? 

Besides,  the  first  paradise  was  not  the  abode  of  un- 
embodied  spirits,  but  of  man  integrally,  body  and  soul : 
with  what  propriety  or  intelligibleness  can  its  name  be 
given  to  a  sphere  where  man  never  is,  bodily  ?  Is  not 
heaven,  which  has  always  been  the  abode  of  pure,  holy 
spirits,  the  more  fitting  place  for  the  spirit  of  a  just 
man  when  disembodied  ? 

There  is,  moreover,  no  warrant  in  Scripture  for  such 
a  definition  of  paradise.  The  word,  which  literally 
means  a  garden,  is  used  by  the  Seventy  for  the  Garden 
of  Eden,  and  in  the  New  Testament  occurs  in  only 
two  places  besides  our  text:  once  in  2  Corinthians 
xii.  4,  and  in  Revelation  ii.  7. 

In  the  first,  the  whole  passage  taken  together  inter- 
prets itself.  "  I  knew,"  says  he,  speaking  of  himself, "  a 
man  in  Christ  above  fourteen  years  ago,  (whether  in 
the  body  I  cannot  tell,  or  but  of  the  body  I  cannot  tell  : 
God  knoweth)  —  such  a  man  caught  up  to  the  third 
heaven ;  and  I  knew  such  a  man  (whether  in  the  body 
or  out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell :  God  knoweth)  —  how 
that  he  was  caught  up  into  paradise,  where  he  heard 
unspeakable  words."  Now,  here,  before  we  go  farther, 
we  must  note  two  things  that  make  it  most  unlikely  for 
Paul  to  have  had  the  views  of  paradise  which  they 
have,  against  whom  we  argue.  They  declare  roundly 
that  it  is  the  separate  place  of  faithful  spirits  only  ;  but 
Paul,  who  must  have  known  this  if  it  were  so,  cannot 


Lect.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  ^Qg 

tell  whether  he  went  there  in  his  body  or  out  of  it 
Had  he  gone  to  such  a  place,  it  must  have  been  in 
spirit,  as  they  say  Christ  did.  Then  they  situate  para- 
dise m  sheol  or  hades;  and  throughout  in  Scripture 
men  are  said  to  go  down  into  sheol,  as  here  in  the  creed  • 
^  He  descended  into  hell ;  "  but  Paul  was  "  caught  up 
mto  paradise:"  went  there  in  the  same  direction -1 
upward -that  he  went  to  the  third  heaven.  The 
utter  discrepancy  is  manifest. 

But,  on   taking  the  whole  passage,  the  two  state- 
ments   only  describe,  to  any  unbiased  judgment,  one 
rapture,  ^  not  two,  as  our  opponents  think ;  for  it  is  only 
after  the  second  statement  that  he  states  what  occurred 
in   his   vision,  i.  e.   he  "heard  unspeakable  words." 
After  his  manner,  writing  as  he  did  for  Gentiles  and   * 
Jews,  he  repeats  his  first  statement,  using  for  the  state 
of  the  blest  the  word  to  which  his  Hebrew  readers 
were  accustomed.     Not  improbably  (as  we  think)    he 
meant  to  teach  them  that,  contrary  to  the  popular  opin- 
ion derived  from  the  rabbins,  paradise  was  not  in  sLl, 
or      the  lower  parts  of  the  earth,"   but  in  the  third 
heaven,  which  all  admit  is  the  immediate  presence  of 
^od.        If  there  was  only  one  rapture,  therefore,  our 
point  IS  proved  ;  but  if  there  were  two,  it  by  no  means 
proves  that  paradise  is  a  state  separate  from  heaven 

,;  "\,?l"^-."-  '^'  ^^  '^^^''  "To  him  that  over- 
Cometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God."  Now,  where  the 
tree  ot  life  is,  there  is  paradise ;  but  in  the  22d  chapter 
CI,  ^)  we  read  again :  "  He  showed  me  a  pure  river 

atl^^ltr"-"^-"^  ^'^  two  raptures  or  visions,  at  least,  before  this:  one 

the  enlsUe  th.t     ♦  .k       T"  ™"''  **^""  ^""^^^"  >^««"  ^'^<>'^  '^e  date  of 
episUe,  that,  at  the  earliest,  was  written  a.  d.  56  -probably  later. 


410 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


[Lect.  XIX, 


lit 


of  the  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of 
the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  ;  in  the  midst  of  the 
street  of  it,  and  on  either  side  of  the  river,  was  there 
the  tree  of  life."  Where  the  throne  of  God  and  the 
Lamb  is,  there  is  the  highest  heavens,  the  place  of  final 
blessedness  (see  Rev.  vii.  9)  ;  but  the  tree  of  life  is 
planted  near  the  throne ;  therefore,  there  is  paradise. 
Compare,  also,  with  the  text.  Rev.  iii.  21,  where,  to 
him  that  overcometh,  Christ  promises  a  seat  on  his 
throne.  The  promises  are  parallel.  In  a  word,  what 
more  natural  than  that,  when  the  Spirit  describes  the 
restoration  of  man  to  blessedness,  he  should  describe  it 
by  the  images  of  the  first  paradise,  and  the  tree  of  life, 
of  which  man  was  not  there  permitted  to  eat. 

Before  we  entirely  dismiss  these  controverted  texts, 
let  us  put  alongside  of  them  several  which  are  not  con- 
troverted.     The  apostle  in  Philippians  i.  21-23,  says, 

"  For  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain 

For  I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,  having  a  desire  to  de- 
part and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better."  Now 
Christ  is,  all  admit,  in  heaven,  —  body  and  soul.  When, 
therefore,  Christ  in  life,  that  is,  the  living  to  Christ 
here,  is  exchanged  for  departing  to  be  with  Christ,  it 
must  be  because  the  soul  will  then  go  to  heaven,  where 
Christ  is  ;  which  is,  indeed,  "  far  bettor."  The  reply 
offered  to  this  is  that  Christ  by  his  divinity  is  omnipres- 
ent, and,  also,  by  his  Spirit  present  with  his  saints  in 
their  separate  state ;  but  this  is  rather  a  quibble  than 
an  argument,  since  it  was  not  necessary  for  the  apostle 
to  depart  to  be  with  Christ  in  that  sense ;  as  he  is  here 
in  his  omnipresence  and  by  his  Spirit  until  the  end  of 
the  world.  The  apostle  evidently  means  a  personal 
nearness  to  his  Lord.      So  he  says,  2   Cor.  v.   5-8, 


Lect.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  42^ 

even  when  anticipating  the  fulness  of  the  resurrection  - 
^  Now  he  that  hath  wrought  us  for  the  self-same  thin. 
IS  God,  who  also  hath  given  unto  us  the  earnest  of  the 
Spirit.     Therefore,  we  are  always  confident,  knowinc. 
that,  wlulst  we  are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent 
(not  at  home)  from  the  Lord  :  for  we  walk  bv  faith,  not 
by  sight  (that  IS,  in  this  life)  :  we  are  confident,  I  say 
and  wilhng  rather  to  be  absent*  from  the  body  (not  at 
home  m  the  body),  and  to  be  present  (at  home)  with 
the  Lord        Certainly,   this  means  personal  nelrness 
and  ac  ual  vision  ;  for  the  contrast  is  of  sight  to  faith 
And  where  is  the  Christian's  home -his  dwelling,  not 
m  a  foreign  land,  but  with  his  people?     In  sheol,  or 
heaven  ?     In  corroboration  of  this,  see  what  Stephen 
he  martyr  saw  and  said  at  his  death.  Acts  vii  55 : 
He,  being  full  of  the   Holy  Ghost,  looked  up  stead- 
fastly  in  o  heaven,  and  saw  the  glory  of  God,  and  Je- 
sus standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God.  ...  And  thev 
stoned  Stephen,  calling  upon  God,  and  saying.  Lord  Je- 
sus, receive  my  spirit !  "     Where  would  the  Lord  Jesus 
receive  the  soul  of  his  saint,  but  where  he  himself  is  ? 

Other  corroboratory  passages  might  be  added,  but 
these  will  answer  our  purpose. 

n.  The  doctors  of  the  reformed  churches,  finding 
the  article  in  the  creed,  and  not  wishing  to  reject  it! 
though  having  no  respect  for  the  dogmas  of  the  papists, 
expounded  it  m  a  sense  conformable  to  the  word  of 

,'  ^"'  ?^^^^"  (^"'-  "•  1^'  1^)-  "Nothing  had 
been  done  if  Christ  had  endured  only  corporeal  death. 
10  interpose  between  us  and  the  anger  of  God,  and 
satisfy  his  righteous  judgment,  it  was  necessary  that  he 
^*jE«*;^V_^,  and  %of-exiIed,  expatriated,  away  from  one's 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


[Lect.  XIX. 


, 


It 
:; 
1 


Is 


11 


ji 


ilimil3  feel  tie  weight  of  divine  vengeance.  Whence, 
also,  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  engage  at  close 
quarters,  as  it  were,  with  the  powers  of  hell,  and  the 
horrors  of  eternal  death.  He  undertook  and  paid  all 
the  penalties  which  must  have  been  exacted  from  them 
(for  whom  he  was  Surety),  the  only  exception  being 
that  the  pains  of  hell  could  not  hold  him.  Hence,  there 
is  nothing  strange  in  its  being  said  that  "  he  descended 
into  hell,"  as  he  endured  the  death  which  is  inflicted 
on  the  wicked  by  an  angry  God.  It  is  but  a  frivolous 
and  ridiculous  objection  to  say  that  this  perverts  the 
®rder  of  the  creed,  putting  after  the  burial  what  pre- 
ceded it.  For,  after  explaining  what  Christ  endured 
in  the  sight  of  man,  the  creed  appropriately  adds  the 
invisible  and  incomprehensible  judgment  which  he  en- 
dured before  (in  the  sight  of)  God,  to  teach  us  that 
not  only  was  the  body  of  Christ  given  up  for  our  re- 
demption, but  that  there  was  a  greater  and  more  excel- 
lent price  :  "  That  he  bore  in  his  soul  the  tortures  of 
condemned  and  ruined  men." 

The  same  view  is  given  by  the  authors  of  the  *'  Hei- 
delberg Catechism,"  in  the  44th  Question  and  Answer : 
•*  Why  is  there  added :  '  He  descended  into  hell  ? ' 
That,  in  my  greatest  temptations,  I  may  be  assured, 
and  wholly  comfort  myself  in  this,  that  my  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  by  his  inexpressible  anguish,  pains,  terrors,  and 
hellish  agonies,  in  which  he  was  pluntred  during  all  his 
■uffeniigs,  but  especially  on  the  cross,  hath  delivered 
me  from  the  anguish  and  torments  of  hell."  With 
this  the  reformed  theologians  universally  agree. 

That  our  Lord  did  so  suffer  the  wrath  of  God,  and 
the  curse  due  to  us  in  his  spirit,  there  can  be  no  doubt ; 
but  that  such  was  the  meaning  of  the  article  when 


Lect.  XIX.]  tHE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  413 

added  to  the  creed  after  the  burial,  is  not  so  clear.   Yet 
the  edification  and  comfort  so  derived  is  not  less  ;  nor 
ar«  we  forbidden  to  think,  if  we  choose,  that  it  wis  in- 
serted to  comply  with  the  scripture  of  the  16th  Psalm 
as  quoted  by  the  apostle  at  the  Pentecost. 

It  may,  however,  be  properly  asked,  how,  if  we  re- 
ject, as  we  do,  the  notion  of  an  intermediate  state,  was 
the  time  between  his  death  on  the  cross  and  his  burial 
spent  by  our  Lord  ? 

To  this  our  answer  is,  that,  as  he  commended  his 
departing  spirit  into  the  hands  of  his  Father,  and 
promised  to  take  the  penitent  thief  the  same  day  into 
paradise,  we  believe  that  the  soul  of  our  Lord  did  <ro 
immediately  to  God  in  hea.-en.  The  next  day  being 
the  Sabbath,  the  second  Adam  rested  with  God,  after 
accomplishing  the  new  creation,  as  the  first  Adam 
rested  with  Him  after  the  former   creation,  in   para- 

The  rest  of  the  Sabbath  being  over,  the  soul  of  our 
l.ord  descended  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  from  heaven  into  oheol,  or  the  grave,  or  the  state 
ot  the  dead  ;  not  to  be  under  the  power  of  death,  but 
as  a  conqueror,  to  take  up  again  his  body  from  under 
the  earth.     In  the  metaphorical  language  of  Scripture, 
we  may  suppose  that  there  was  a  conflict  between  our 
Lord,  now  the  Lord  of  life,  and  "  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  "  for  he  is  said  to 
iiave  vanquished,  the  last  enemy,  —  his  spoils  being  his 
own  ransomed  body,  which  he  displayed  openly.    Thus 
we  read :  «  Whom  God  hath  raised  np,  having  loosed 
the  pains  of  death,  because  it  was  not  possible  that  he 
should  be  holden  of  it "  (Acts  ii.  24).    So,  also,  in  the 
bSth  Psalm  (18th  v.) :  "  Thou  hast  ascended  up  on 


414 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL. 


[Lect.  XIX. 


SI 


high ;  thou  hast  led  captivity  captive ; "  upon  which 
the  apostle  (Ephes.  iv.  8-10)  comments :  "  Where- 
fore he  saith,  When  he  ascended  up  on  high,  he  led 
captivity  captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men.  Now  that 
he  ascended,  what  is  it  but  that  he  also  descended  first 
into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth  ?  He  that  descended 
is  the  same,  also,  that  ascended  up  far  above  all  heavens, 
that  he  micrht  fill  all  thino-s."  And  acjain  in  Col.  ii. 
16 :  "  Having  spoiled  principalities  and  powers,  he 
made  a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing  over  them  in 
it,"  or  by  it,  —  his  resurrection  and  ascension.  As  a 
conqueror  in  an  ancient  trium[)h  showed  not  only  the 
spoils  of  his  conquest,  but  exhibited  his  vanquished  foes 
in  chains  about  his  car,  so  did  Christ,  bearing  aloft  his 
own  body,  the  earnest  of  all  the  bodies  of  his  people, 
manifest  his  power.  Thus  Hosea  (xiii.  14)  :  "  I  will 
ransom  them  from  the  power  of  the  grave ;  I  will 
redeem  them  from  death.  O  death,  I  will  be  thy 
plagues  !  O  grave,  I  will  be  thy  destruction  !  "  On 
which  the  apostle  (1  Cor.  xv.  54-56)  :  "  Then  shall 
be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written.  Death  is 
swallowed  up  in  victory.  O  death !  where  is  thy 
sting  ?  O  grave !  where  is  thy  victory  ?  The  sting 
of  death  is  sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law  ;  but, 
thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  "  Or,  as  Heber  sings  in  his 
magnificent  hymn  for  Easter :  — 

"Now  empty  are  the  courts  of  death, 
And  crushed  thy  sting,  Despair ; 
And  roses  bloom  in  the  desert  tomb, 
For  Jesus  hath  been  there. 

**  And  he  hath  tamed  the  strength  of  hell 
And  dragged  him  through  the  sky; 


415 


Lect.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL, 

And  captive  behind  his  chariot  wheel 
He  hath  bound  captivity. 

"  God  hath  gone  up  with  a  merry  shout     - 
Of  his  saints  that  sing  on  high ; 
WHh  his  own  right  hand  and  his 'holy  arm 
He  hath  won  the  victory!" 

_  Is  it  presumptuous  to  say  that  this  view  of  the  sub- 
ject meets  the  questions,  and  corresponds  with  the  tes- 
timony of  Scripture  9  " 

PKACTICAI,    INFERENCES. 

First  :  me  completeness  of  Christ's  work  for  us. 

He  exhausted  the  curse  in  his  sufferings,  and  there 
remams  no  hell  for  the  believer. 

He  follows  us  even  into  the  regions  of  the  dead,  and 
burstmg  the  bars  of  death,  opens  the  way  foi^  our 
resurrection.  ■' 

He  hath  made  death  our  servant  and  friend. 
bEcoNDLY :  The  blessedness  of  the  believer's  death. 
It  IS  following  Christ  out  of  this  life  to  heaven. 
It  IS  the  departure  of  the  soul,  not  into  prison,  or 
sleep,  but  mto  the  presence  of  God. 
It  is  leaving  the  body  of  sin  and  death  in  the  grave 


LECTDEE  XX. 


THE  RESUKBECTION  OF  CHEIST. 


"  %r*^p(l.    '>J|i0'. 


27 


i  ' 


li 


SEVENTEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

THE  RESURRECTION   OF   CHRIST. 

Quest.  XLV.    What  doth  the  resurrection  of  Christ projit  us  f 

A>'s.    First,  by  his  resurrection  he  hath  overcome  death   that  he  might 

make  us  of  that  righteousness  which  he  had  purchased  for  us  bv  his 

death;   secondly,  we  are  also  by  his  power  raised  up  to  a  new 'life; 

and,  lastly,  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  a  sure  pledge  of  our  blessed 

resurrection. 

"  THE  THIRD  DAY  HE  ROSE  AGAIN  FROM  THE  DEAD." 

JF  you  take  this  article  away  from  our  creed,  the 
whole  system  of  evangelical  doctrine  is  dissolved  and 
crumbles  to  the  ground  like  a  building  from    under 
which  the  corner-stone  has  been  dragged  out.      The 
prophets  before  him,  our  Lord  himself,  and  the  apostles 
after  him,  stake  the  credibility  of  the  gospel  in  all  its 
parts  and  as  a  whole,  on  the  one  fact  of  his  resurrection 
from  the  dead  (a).     Without  it  the  divinity  of  his  per- 
son (6),  the  genuineness  of  his  mission  (c),  the  efficacy 
of  his  atonement  (i),  and  the  eternal  life  of  his  peo- 
ple (e)  would  be,  not  only  without  proof,  but  proved  to 
be   falsehoods.     "If  Christ   be   not   risen,"   says   the 
apostle,  "  then  is  our  (a)  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith 
IS  also  vain."     Again,  he  speaks  of  himself  'as  "  sepa- 
rated unto  the  gospel  of  God  .   .   .  concerning  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  which  was  made  of  the  seed  of 
David  according  to  the  flesh,  and  (i)  declared  to  be 
the  Son  of  God  with  power,  according  to  the  spirit  of 
holiness,  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead."     Again, 


i 


420  THE  RESURRECTION  Of  CHRIST.         [Lkct.  XX. 

preaching  to  the  Athenians  on  Mars-hill,  he  opens  the 
doctrine  of  the   mediatorship :    "Now   commandeth  *' 
God  "all  men  everywhere  to  repent:  because  he  hath 
appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world 
in  righteousness  (c)    by  that  man  whom  he  hath   or- 
dained: whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men, 
in   that   he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead^'     Again  :' 
"  If  Christ  be  not  raised,  your  faith  is  vain  ;   ye  are 
yet  in  your  sins : "  which  corresponds  with  the  testi- 
mony in  Romans  —  "  To  us  also  it  "  (that  is  the  right- 
eousness of  faith  which  Abraham  had)  "  shall  be  Im- 
puted, if  we  believe  on  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  our 
Lord  from  the  dead  ;  who  was  delivered  for  our  offences, 
and  was  raised  again  (d)  for  our  justification."     So,' 
also,  the   apostle  Peter:    "Blessed  be  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which,  according  to 
ik  abundant  mercy,  hath  (e)  begotten  us  again  unto  a 
Ively  hope  (a  hope  of  life)  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  from  the  dead,  to  an  inheritance  incorruptible, 
and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in 
leaven  for  you,  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God 
through  faith  unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the 
last  time."    Indeed,  the  testimony  of  the  Old  Testament 
throughout   foretold   the   humiliation    and   consequent 
•xaltation  of  the  Messiah,  as  our  Lord  showed  when, 
walking  with  the  two  disciples  to  Emmaus,  he  said : 
••  O  fools,  and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the 
prophets  have  spoken.     Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suf- 
fered these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his  glory  ?     And, 
beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets,  he  expounded 
unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  concerninir 
himself."     Hence  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  has  been 
justly  denominated  the  cardinal  fact  of  Christianity  ; 


Lect.  XX.J         THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  421 

and  we  cannot  over-estimate  the  importance  of  rightly 
understanding  its  vital  relation  to  all  the  principles  of 
our  most  holy  faith.  This  is  taught  us  in  the  45th 
Question  and  Answer  of  the  Catechism,  under  three 
comprehensive  heads,  which  suggest  the  proper  order 
for  our  thought,  after  some  preliminary  observations 
on  matter  brought  before  us  by  the  phraseology  of  the 
creed. 

By  the  resurrection  of  Christ  we  mean  what  the 
words  of  the  article  literally  signify :  "  He  rose  again 
from  the  dead."     As  he  actually  died  and  not  merely 
swooned  away  (of  which  his  murderers  certified  them^- 
selves  before  he  was  taken  down  from  the  cross),  so 
he  actually  rose  up  fi'om  death,  leaving  the  tomb  in 
which  he  had  lain  a  living  man.    The  same  body  which 
he  took  on  him  out  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  (blessed  was  she  above  women,  and  blessed  the 
fmit  of  her  womb  !)  was  crucified  ;  the  same  body  in 
which  he  was  crucified,  was  buried,  and  so  the  same 
body  rose  up  from  the  grave.     It  was  not  a  phantasm, 
or  mere  semblance  of  a  body,  but  a  real,  substantial 
body,  identical  with  that  which  he  had  before  his  death  ; 
and  in  it  the  wounds  he  received  on  the  cross  were 
clearly  visible.     Thus,  when  he  appeared  to  his  disci- 
ples in  the  evening,  they  were  "terrified  and  affrighted, 
and  supposed  that  they  had  seen  a  spirit,  and  he  said 
unto  them :  Why  are  ye  troubled  ?  and  why  do  thoughts 
(disputes)  arise  in   your  hearts?     Behold  my  hands 
and  my  feet "  (those  dear  hands  and  feet  which  had  been 
pierced  by  the  nails),  "  that  it  is  I  myself:  handle  me  and 
see  ;  for  a  spirit  hath  not  flesh  •  and  bones  as  ye  see  me 
have.      And,  when  he  had  thus  spoken,  he  showed 
them  his  han^ds  and  his  feet.     And  while  they  yet  be- 


I 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.        [Lect.  XX. 

not  for  joy,  and  wondered,  he  said  unto  them 
Have  ye  here  any  meat  ?  And  they  gave  him  a  piece  of 
a  broiled  fish  and  of  a  honeycomb  ;  and  he  took  it  and 
did  eat  before  them  .  .  .     Then  opened  he  their  nn- 
derstand.ncr,  that  they  might  understand  the  Scriptures: 
and  said  unto  them,  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  be- 
hooved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the 
tlin'cl  c  ay.       The  evangeh'st  Jolm  farther  informs  us 
that  Thomas,  the  apostle,  was  not  present  on  this  occa- 
sion,  and  when  told  of  it  by  the  rest,  he  doubted  the 
slory  and  said  :  "  Except  I  shall  see  in  his  hands  the 
pnnt  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger  into  the  print  of 
the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not 
believe.     And  after  eight  days  again  his  disciples  were 
within,  and  Thomas  with  them.     Then  came  Jesus, 
the  doors  being  shut,  and  stood  in  the  midst  and  saifl, 
Peace  be  unto  you !     Then  saith  he  to  Thomas,  Reach 
hither  thy  finger,  and  behold  (perceive)  my  hands;  and 
reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my  side  ;  and 
be  not  faithless,  but  believing.     And  Thomas  answered 
and  said  unto  him.  My  Lord  and  my  God."     So  also 
the  apostle  Peter,  when  preaching  to  Cornelius  and  his 
friends  in  Cesarea,  says :  "  Him  God  raised  up  the  third 
day,  and  showed  him  openly  ;  not  to  all  the  people,  but 
unto  witnesses  chosen  before  of  God,  even  to  us,  who  did 
^t  and  drink  with  him  after  he  rose  from  the  dead." 
These  were  palpable,  unmistakable  proofs  that  the  vis- 
ible form  of  Jesus  was  a  real,  substantial,  living  bodv, 
—  the  same  that  was  crucified. 

At  the  same  time,  the  manner  and  character  of  the 
corporeal  life  which  our  Lord  had  when  visible  to  his 
disciples  on  earth  after  his  resurrection  must  have  dif- 
fered m  some  important  particulars  from  those  of  the 


Lect.  XX.]        THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 


423 


hTe  he  had  had  before  his  death ;  and,  for  the  same  rea- 
sons, his  body  must  have  been  changed,  not  as  to  iden- 
tity or  essential  quality,  but  as  to  its  mode  of  being. 
It  becomes  us  to  speak  here  with  a  reverent  modesty, 
yet  we  cannot  and  ought  not  to  blink  the  question! 
which  necessarily  arise. 

The  life  which  he  received  and  exercised  then  was 
not  derived,  as  his  former  life  or  our  ordinary  life,  from 
physical  generation  and  growth,  but  from  the  immedi- 
ate will  of  God.     His  former  life  was  necessarily,  be- 
cause of  his  body's  natural  tendency  to  decay,  mortal. 
The  death  of  Christ  in  his  human  nature  was  as  much 
the  inevitable   consequence  of  his   being    born   of  a 
woman  as  ours  is.     Nay,  one  of  the  main  reasons  why 
he  became  a  partaker  of  our  flesh  and  blood  was,  that 
he  might  die  and,  as  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  says, 
"  through  death  .  .  .  destroy  him  that  had  the  power 
of  death ;  "  which  he  could  not  have  done  in  any  other 
nature  than  human.     But  the  life  of  Christ  after  his 
resurrection  was  in  its  nature  immortal,  and  his  blessed 
body  incapable  of  decay  or  any  of  those  weaknesses 
which  arise  from  a  tendency  to  corruption.      It  was 
the  same  life  that  he  has  now  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father ;  and,  therefore,  his  body  had  all  those  prop- 
erties that  his  body  has,  and  the  bodies  of  his  saints  will 
have  after  their  resurrection,  in  heaven.     This  body 
and  the  change  through  which  it  passes,  is  described  by 
the  apostle  in  the  15th  of  1  Corinthians  :  "  It  is  sown 
in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incorruption  ;  it  is  sown  in 
dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory  ;  it  is  sown  in  weakness, 
it  is  raised  in  power ;  it  is  sown  a  natural  (animal) 
body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body  ;  and  so  it  is  written, 
The  first  man  Adam  was  made  a  living  soul  (that  is, 


424  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.        [Lect.  XX. 

made  for  an  animal  life) ;  the  last  Adam  was  made 
a  quickening  spirit."     Now  no  one  may  pretend  to  un- 
derstand  the  full  meaning  of  these  remarkable  antithetic 
cal  phrases  (we  must  wait  till  the  light  of  heaven  for 
that)  ;   but   this  much  we  can,  with  the  aid  of  other 
scriptures,  discover  :    The   heavenly  life  of  the  man 
Christ  Jesus,  and  of  his  people  after  their  resurrection, 
having  a  spiritual,  not  an  animal  source,  will  be  so  far 
spiritual  as  to  be  set  free  from  all  animal  necessities  and 
inhrmities ;  such  as  dependence  on  food  and  breath,  and 
Jiabihty  to  passion,  appetite,  weariness,  sickness,  and 
decay.    So,  by  consequence,  their  bodies  will  be  ethere- 
ahzed,  purged  from  all  grossness,  no  longer  a  hindrance 
to  their  souls,  but  sympathizing  with,  and  partaking  of, 
spiritual  activity  and  indefatigable   self-supporting  en- 
ergy.     In  a  word,  though  we  have  not  now  time  to 
enter  upon  the  edifying  comparison,  the  glorified  body 
ot  Christ,  as  it  was  seen  by  the  three  disciples,  transfie- 
ured  on  the  top  of  Tabor,  was  the  pre-manifestation  of 
his  heavenly  body,  and   the  pattern  after  which  the 
bodies  of  the  redeemed  will  be  transfigured  at  the  res- 
urrection.     "  Our  conversation  is  in  heaven,"  says  the 
apostle,  "from  whence  also  we  look  for  the  Saviour 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  who  shall  change  our  vile  body' 
that  It  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body' 
according  to  the  working"  (energy,  which  is  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit,)  "  whereby  he  is  able  to  subdue 
all  things  unto  himself;"  or  again  in  the  aforecited 
chapter   of  1  Corinthians:  "As  we   have  borne   the 
image  of  the  earthy"  (that  is,  of  the  first  Adam  who  was 
formed  from  the  earth),  "  we  shall  also  bear  the  image  of 
the  heavenly  "  (that  is,  of  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord 
mm  heaven).     Let  it  not  be  objected  to  this  view  of 


Lect.  XX.]       THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  425 

our  Lord's  body  after  his  resurrection,  that  he  did  actu- 
ally  partake  of  food.     So  did  the  angels  who  appeared 
m  bodily  shape  to  Abraham  and  Lot.     It  was  but  a 
gracious  condescension  of  Christ  to  the  weak  minds  of 
his  disciples,  the  more  readily  to  convince  them  that  he 
was  the  same  Lord  who  had  so  often  broken  bread  with 
them  before ;  not  because  he  needed  the  sustenance 
requisite  for  a  mortal  life.     Our  own  Witsius  on  this 
quotes  with  high  approbation  a  passage  of  St.  Aucrus- 
tme :  "  To  be  incapable  of  taking  food,  or  to  stand  in 
need  of  food,  would  be  equally  an  evidence  of  imper- 
fection  in  the  revived  body.     The  parched  earth  swal- 
lows  up  water  in  a  very  different  manner  fi-om  that  in 
which  it  is  taken  up  by  the  burning  sun.     The  one 
does  it  from  need,  the  other  by  power."     For  a  like 
reason,  our  Lord  did  not,  during  the  forty  days,  appear 
to  the  disciples  in  his  glory.     They  could  not  have 
identified  him  in  such  radiance  with  the  man  of  sor- 
rows, neither  could  they  with  their  sensual  eyes  have 
looked  upon  him  and  lived,  as  we  know  from  the  ex- 
perience of  the  three  witnesses  who,  on  the  holy  mount, 
became  as  "  dead  men." 

While,  however,  we  believe  that  the  body  of  our 
Lord  was  gloriously  changed,  we  must  reject  the  vain 
notions  of  papists  and  others,  that  it  became  infinitely 
divisible  and  omnipresent,  as  they  contend  that  it  is  in 
the  mass.  It  continued  to  be  a  human  body,  and, 
therefore,  limited  to  such  space  as  a  human  body  natu- 
rally occupies  ;  nor  is  it  possible,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  even  for  a  miracle  to  transubstantiate  the  sacra- 
mental bread  in  the  priest's  hands,  so  as  to  make  it 
part  of  Christ's  body,  which  is  in  heaven. 

We  should  note,  also,  the  language  of  the  article : 


I 

I 

I 


I 


I 

♦ 


f 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.       [Lect.  XX. 

•*  He  rose."     He  rose  from  the  dead  by  his  own  media- 
torial power.     He  had  purchased  the  right  of  uprising, 
hy  his  blood  shed  in  expiation  of  sin.     Yet,  in  many 
passages  we   read   that   God,  even   God   the  Father, 
raised  him  up ;    and,  in  several,  the  quickening  is  as- 
cribed to  the  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     The  same  is 
said  of  his  incarnation  :  "  God  sent  his  Son,  made  of  a 
woman ;  *'  "  the  Holy  Ghost  came  upon  the  virgin,  and 
the  power  of  the  Highest  overshadowed  her ;  yet  he 
•'  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant ;  "  he  took  part 
of  flesh  and  blood.     So  with  his  death  :  "  It  pleased  the 
Father  to  bruise  him,*'  and  to  "  make  his  soul  (life) 
an  offering  for  sin  ;  and  though  he  of  his  own  will  laid 
down  his  life  for  his  friends,  it  was  through  the  eternal 
Spirit  that  "  he  offered  himself  without  spot  to  God." 
There  is  no  contradiction  in  these  several  statements, 
tut  a  declaration  of  the  consent  and  coefficiency  of  the 
three  persons  of  the  ever-blessed  Trinity  in  the  several 
processes  of  the  redemption.     Glory  be  to  the  Father, 
and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  Amen  ! 

The  article  farther  particularizes  that  it  was  the 
0i{rd  day  on  which  our  Lord  rose  again  from  the  dead. 
This  is  according  to  several  scriptures,  particularly 
Christ's  own  words  shortly  after  his  transfiguration 
(Mark  ix.  31),  and  was  literally  true ;  for  he  expired 
m  the  afternoon  of  the  day  before  the  Jewish  Sabbath 
(our  Friday),  and  rose  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day 
of  the  week.  But  other  scriptures  seem  to  have  fore- 
told that  the  interval  would  be  three  days,  or  three 
days  and  three  nights.  He  himself  said  to  the  Jews, 
speaking  of  his  body,  "  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in 
liiree  days  I  will  raise  it  up ;  "  and  again  :  "  As  Jonas 
was  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  whale's  belly,  so 


Lect.  XX.]        THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 


427 


shall  the  Son  of  Man  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in 
the  heart  of  the  earth."     But  there  is  properly  neither 
discrepance  nor  difficulty  in  this,  the  two  expressions 
in   the  Hebrew  manner  of  speech   meaning  the  same 
thing.     They  began  the  day  of  twenty-four  hours  in 
the  evening,  and  called  it  the  evening  and  the  morn- 
ing, like  the  Greek  night-day ;   and  also  reckoned  a 
part  of  a  day  as  the  whole.     So,  as  our  Lord  remained 
dead  part  of  three  days,  they  would  express  it  by  three 
days  and  three  nights.      Any  objection  to  the  truth  of 
our  Lord  is  frivolous,  and  any  attempt  to  explain  it 
otherwise  than  we  have  done  would  be  incorrect.     Our 
Lord  and  his  disciples  would  not  make  so  manifest  a 
contradiction  of   themselves  as  the  use  of  three  days 
and  three  nights  in  any  other  sense  would  have  been. 
He  continued  dead  long  enough  to  disprove  the  suspi- 
cion that  he  had  only  swooned,  but  not  long  enough, 
especially  as   his   dear  body  was  wrapt  around  with 
spices,  to  "see  corruption." 

He  rose  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  thus  ushering 
in  a  new  world;  whence  the  early  Christians  under 
apostolical  authority,  which  was  equivalent  to  revela- 
tion, for  they  acted  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  transferred  the  weekly  rest,  or  Sabbath,  from  the 
seventh  day  to  that  of  the  resurrection.     After  this  we 
have  no  trace  of  their  keeping  the  seventh  day,  but 
many  instances  of  their  meeting  together  for  Christian 
worship,  instruction,  and  communion,  on  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  the 
Lord's  day  (Rev.  i.  10).     The  doctrine  of  the  Sabbatli 
will  be  handled  at  large  in  its  proper  place  ;  but,  while 
we  devoutly  acknowledge  the  obligation  of  the  Sabbath 
to  be  perpetual,  we  cannot  err  in  following  apostolical 


428 


THE  BESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.      [Lect.  XX. 


I 


example  in  connecting  the  Sabbath  rest  with  the  result 
rection  of  him  who  is  Lord  of  the  Sabbath.  The 
change  is  but  another  honor  done  to  the  mediatorial 
kingship  of  Christ,  who  appointed  his  Sabbath  as  the 
Creator  in  the  beginning  had  appointed  his.  The 
transference  of  divine  authority  to  the  Mediator  was 
aptly  signalized  by  a  change  of  the  day  symbolical  of 
worship.  It  meets  the  instincts  of  the  Christian  heart. 
Man  yet  guiltless,  the  representative  of  God  over  the 
works  rf  Hi  hands,  might  enjoy,  as  he  needed,  com- 
munion with  the  Creator  to  prepare  him  for  his  holy 
duty ;  but  man  the  sinner,  whose  only  hope  is  in  the 
merits  of  him  whom  the  Father  honors,  and  whose 
evangelical  duty  is  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Son,  needs 
and  can  enjoy  divine  communion  with  his  Saviour,  and 
only  through  him  can  he  reach  communion  with  the 
Father,  our  God  in  Christ. 

The  last  day  of  the  week  has  for  us  no  associations 
nr  warrant  of  hope.  It  leads  us  only  to  the  tomb, 
where  he,  who  liad  promised  to  redeem  Ismel,  lies  dead 
and  cold,  and*  to  all  human  sight,  vanquished  by  our 
great  enemy ;  but,  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day,  we 
meet  a  risen  Saviour,  triumphant  over  death,  and  victo- 
rious for  us.  Then,  throughout  the  day,  more  than  on 
any  other,  does  he  delight  to  mingle  with  us  by  his 
spirit,  whether  in  our  solitary  searchings  for  him  as 
man,  or  in  our  social  converse,  like  the  two  disciples 
talking  together  as  they  walked,  or  in  the  full  assembly, 
as  the  ten  with  the  devout  women.  Oh,  who  that  has 
enjoyed  such  communion  witli  tlie  Lord,  can  doubt  that 
God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  has  blessed  our 
Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it? 

Now,  on  what  autliority  does  the  article  before  us 


Lect.  XX.]         THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 


429 


require  our  faith  in  the  fact  that  our  Lord  rose  acrain 
from  the  dead  on  the  third  day  ?     We  answer  solely  on 
the  authority  of  the  apostles.      There  are,  it  is  true, 
corroboratory  proofs  from  external  history,  but  as  Chris- 
tians we  can  base  our  belief  only  on  inspired  recoi-ds. 
The  story,  as  told  by  the  evangelists  with  such  wonder- 
ful agreement,  is,  indeed,  a  testimony  to  its  own  truth- 
fuhiess ;  but  two  of  the  four  were  themselves  apostles, 
and  the  other  two  companions  of  apostles,  — -  Mark  of 
Peter,  and  Luke  of  Paul.      So  it  is  on  the  apostolical 
testimony  alone  that  we  depend.      This  was  the  divine 
arrangement.      In  all  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  it 
is  the  order  of  God  that  they  who  are  saved  should  be 
saved  by  faith  and  not  by  sight.      The  pride  of  human 
scepticism  must  be  broken  down  by  the  truth,  mighty 
through  the  accompanying  power  of  God.     It  had  been 
easy  for  the  risen  Saviour  to  have  showed  himself  alive 
to  the  Sanhedrim  and  all  the  people  of  Jerusalem  ;  but 
such  is  not  the  divine  method.      Our  Lord  during  his 
life  did  exhibit  before  them  every  sufficient  and'^pro- 
phetical   proof  of  his  Messiahship ;  yet  they  wickedly 
rejected  and  crucified  him.      After  his  death  and  resur- 
rection, he  demonstrates  the  truth  of  his  gospel,  not  by 
mere  human  suffrages,  but  by  its  own  divinity  and  his 
confirming  spirit.      It  was  graciously  due  to  those  who 
had  beheved  on  him  during  his  life  of  humiliation,  that 
they  should  behold  him  risen  ;  and  it  is  most  probable, 
we  might  say  certain,  that  he  did  show  himself  alive 
after  his  passion,  to  all  such  believers;  but  for  others, 
the   testimony  of  the  appointed  witnesses  was  to  be 
enough.     So  the  apostle  Peter,  in  the  first  sermon  to 
the  Gentiles,  says  :  «  Him  God  raised  up  the  third  day, 
and  showed  him  openly,  not  to  all  the  people,  but  unto 


430 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.       [Lect.  XX. 


I 

I 

f 


witnesses  chosen  before  of  God,  even  to  us,  who  did  eat 
and  drink  with  him  after  he  rose  from  the  dead ;  and 
he  commanded  us  to  preach  unto  the  people,  and  to  tes- 
tify that  it  is  lie  which  was  ordained  of  God  to  be  the 
judge  of  quick  and  dead.     To  him  give  all  the  proph- 
ets witness,  that,  through  his  name,  whosoever  believeth 
in  him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins."     In  conformity 
to  this  we  are  told,  that  all  true  behevers,  who  consti- 
tute by  aggregation  the  church  of  God,  are  built  on 
the  foundation   of  the   apostles  and   prophets,   Jesus 
Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone,  —  the  testi- 
mony of  the  prophets  before  Christ,  and  the  testimony 
III'  the  apostles  after  him,  being  united  in  his  person, 
history,  and  works,  as  the  Saviour.      Nay,  one  of  the 
chief  purposes  for  which  the  apostleship  was  ordained 
was  to  testify  of  our  Lord's  resurrection ;  and  a  main, 
indispensable  qualification  for  the  office  was  that  the 
one  chosen  should  have  seen  the  Lord  after  his  resur- 
rection.    Thus,  in  the  aforecited  passage  (Luke  xxiv. 
46-8),  our  Lord,  in  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which 
he  arose,  after  having  showed  them  his  wounds  and 
illuminated  them  with  a  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures, 
added :  "  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  behooved  Christ 
to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the  third  day: 
and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be 
preached  in  his  name  among  all  nations,  beginning  at 
Jerusalem.  And  ye  are  witnesses  of  these  things.    And 
behold,  I  send  the  promise  of  my  Father  upon  you : 
but  tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem  until  ye  be  en- 
dued with  power  from  on  high."      So,  when  the  eleven 
before  the  Pentecost  thought  it  necessary  to  put  one  in 
the  place  of  Iscariot,  Peter  said  that  one  must  be  or- 
dained to  be  a  witness  of  his  (the  Lord's)  resurrection. 


^  Lect.  XX.]        THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  431 

Paul,  called  afterwards  to  be  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles, 
received  this  qualification  by  special  vision  of  Christ 
and  vmdicates  his  claim  to  the  apostleship,  which  it 
would  seem  some  had  challenged  by  demanding :  "  Am 
Inot  an  apostle?  Am  I  not  free  ?  Have  I  not  seen 
Jesus  the  Lord?  "  And  in  another  place,  he  says,  after 
speaking  of  the  other  witnesses  to  the  resurrection: 
"  Last  of  all,  he  was  seen  of  me  also,  as  of  one  born 
out  of  due  time.  For  I  am  the  least  of  the  apostles,  that 
am  not  meet  to  be  called  an  apostle,  because  I  perse- 
cuted  the  church  of  God." 

For  this  reason  among  others,  we  of  the  reformed 
churches  consider  that  the  apostolical  office  ceased  with 
the  first  college,  and  that  it  is  wholly  unscriptural  to 
hold  of  any  minister  in  the  church  since,  that  he  is  a 
successor  of  the  apostles  as  such.     The  apostles  were 
also  preachers,  and  we  should  be  sorry  to  deny  the 
right    of  any   ordained   minister   of  any   evangelical 
church,  to  follow  the  apostles  as  a  preacher  of  the  word ; 
but  at  the  same  time  we  confidently  and  flatly  deny 
that  any  preacher  or  minister  of  any  rank,  of  any 
church,  can  be  a  successor  of  the  apostles  in  any  other 
sense,  and  consider  such  pretensions  preposterous,  arro- 
gant, contrary  to  the  truth  of  God.     For,  besides  its 
being  necessary  to  an  apostle  that  he  should  be  appointed 
immediately  by  Christ,  should  have  the  gift  of  inspira- 
tion, should  be  able  to  work  miracles  and  to  confer  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  — none  of  which  marks  are 
discernible  in  those  who  claim  the  office  nowadays  —it 
were  enough  to  vitiate  their  assumption  that  they  have 
not  seen  the  Lord  Jesus. 

While,  however,  we  receive  the  fact  on  the  authority 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  m  the  apostles,  the  same  Spirit  bear- 


432 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.         FLect.  XX. 


w. 


I 

I 


I 


t 


ing  witness  in  our  hearts  that  their  word  is  true,  we 
should  be  irrational  not  to  inquire  on  what  grounds 
their  testimony  is  put  beyond  impeachment. 

If  Christ  be  not  risen,  as  they  state,  Christianity  is 
the  most  consummate  imposture,  and  the  result  of  the 
basest  conspiracy  that  the  world  has  ever  seen.     But 
this  is  impossible ;  for  let  us  consider,  first :  The  char- 
acter of  the  witnesses.     They  were,  —  with  the  doubtful 
exceptions  of  Matthew,  the  publican,  among  the  eleven 
who  were  with  Christ  from  the  beginning,  and  of  Paul, 
who  was  added  four  years  after  the  crucifixion,  —simple, 
unlearned,  inexperienced,  bom  in  a  rude  country  and 
bred  to  humble  callings, — men  most  unlikely  to  origi- 
nate such  a  scheme  or  to  dare  the  risk  of  carrying  it  on. 
They  were,  also,  ordinarily  shrewd  and  not  easily  de- 
ceived as  to  facts  that  came  under  their  immediate 
observation.     But,  if  they  had  been  deceived  by  the 
pretensions  of  him  they  followed,  his  death  of  weakness 
and  shame,  had  it  not  been  succeeded  as  he  had  fore- 
told by  his  resurrection  on  the  third  day,  would  have 
undeceived  them.     The  resurrection  was  the  hinge  on 
which  their  opinion  of  Jesus  turned ;  and,  had  it  not 
occurred,  there  was  no  motive  for  them  to  continue 
their  adherence  to  his  cause,  but  every  reason  for  their 
abandonment  of  it.     Yet,  though  their  faith  was  weak 
and  often  vacillating  before  his  death,  shortly  after  it 
they  appear  among  the  people  cognizant  of  the  cruci- 
fixion, courageous,  unhesitating  and  explicit  in  declar- 
ing their  full  reliance  on  the  truth  and  power  of  the 
doctrine  he  had  preached.     And  what  was  that  doc- 
trine but  a  system  of  the  purest  morals,  the  most  relig- 
ious obligations,  the  utmost  self-denial  and  steadfast- 
ness under  persecution  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  from  a 


Lect.XX.]  the  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  433 

just  God  a  recompense  of  mercy,  not  in  this  world  but 
in  eternity  ?  There  have  been  many  false  religions,  and 
each  has  had  many  devoted  followers,  but  no  instance 
has  been  seen  where  men  lied  for  the  sake  of  virtue  • 
conspired  to  cheat  that  they  might  make  others  upright ' 
and  braved  the  vengeance  of  God,  to  teach  the  world 
his  worship  in  the  purest  and  most  spiritual  form  :  cer- 
tainly none  in  which  the  devotees  based  their  delusion 
on  a  palpable  fact  of  wliich  their  senses  were  judo-es,  yet 
which  had  never  occurred.  ^ 

Consider  also  the  number  of  the  witnesses.      The 
prophets,  from  the  fall  downward  until  the  baptism  of 
Christ,  had  all  of  them  foretold  the  humiliation  and 
glory  of  Christ,  some  of  them  with  great  particularity 
as  to  time,  place,  and  circumstances ;  John  the  Baptist, 
at  the  height  of  an  unparalleled  influence  over  the  peo- 
ple, jeoparded  it  all  by  declaring  that  he  was  only  the 
forerunner  of  Christ,  in  whose  rising  light  his  should 
wane  like  a  star  before  the  morning  sun  ;  our  Lord  him- 
self, while  presaging  his  own  ignominy  and  death,  prom- 
ised his  followers  nothing  for  this  life  but  tribulation, 
shame,  and  persecutions.     All  occurred  as  it  had  been 
foretold  :  then,  after  his  death  he  was  seen  alive  (for,  if 
we  admit  the  testimony  at  all,  the  particularity  with 
which  it  is  given  precludes  deception  or  mistake  respect- 
ing his  identity  and  life)  by  the  eleven  apostles,  with 
Matthias,  all  of  whose  statements  fully  and  minutelv 
harmonize  ;  by  the  pious  women ;  and,  at  one  time,  by 
more  than  five  hundred  brethren  assembled,  the  greater 
part  of  whom  were  alive,  as  Paul  says,  twenty-eight 
years  after,  and  not  one  of  whom  ever  denied  the  as- 
sertions of  the  apostles  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  all  of 

them  continued  steadfast  in  their  faith,  despite  of  perse- 
voL.  I.  28 


434 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.        [Lect.  XX. 


cation  and  obloquy.  Kow  Iiow  can  we  believe  tbat  a 
conspiracy  could  be  formed  of  so  many  persons  of  all 
ranks,  stretching  over  twenty  centuries,  at  least,  for  the 
purpose  of  deluding  the  world,  contrary  to  its  prejudices 
and  habits,  into  the  adoption  of  the  purest,  most  benefi- 
cent system  with  which  mankind  has  ever  been  blessed ! 
Consider,  again,  the  circumstances  in  which  the 
apostolical  testimony  was  given  :  not  in  some  remote, 
obscure  })lace,  but  at  Jerusalem,  before  the  very  multi- 
tude and  within  hearing  of  the  very  Sanliedrim,  who 
had  been  promoters  of  the  trial  and  crucifixion  of 
Jesus,  as  well  as  personal  observers  of  the  natural 
prodigies  said  to  have  accompanied  his  death  and  up- 
rising ;  nor  this  long  afterward,  but  at  the  close  of  fifty 
days.  The  apostle  Peter  at  the  Pentecost  boldly  ap- 
pealed to  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem,  and  to  the  mixed 
multitudes  of  Jews  and  proselytes  from  Judea  and 
other  countries,  who  had  been  present  all  the  time,  for 
the  truth  of  his  assertions  respecting  the  life  and  works 
of  Jesus,  his  crucifixion,  and  the  supernatural  events 
accompanying  it ;  and  then  plainly  declared  his  resur- 
rection and  ascension.  Surely,  then,  the  more  intelH- 
gent  and  infliuential  Jews  had  the  opportunity  (and 
they  did  not  lack  the  will),  if  it  were  possible,  to  dis- 
prove the  story ;  yet  so  far  from  this,  the  very  people 
who  had  clamored  against  Jesus  and  followed  him 
with  execrations,  listen  astounded,  and  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  them  embrace  the  gospel.  The  new 
church  is  founded  close  to  the  cross  and  tomb  of  its 
Master.  There  it  lingered  for  several  years,  challeng- 
ing investigation  ;  and  thence  its  adherents  scattered 
themselves  over  the  greater  part  of  the  then  known 
world,  disputing  with  erudite  philosophers,  attacking 


LEcr.  XX.]  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  435 

hoary  prejudices,  denouncing  popular  idolatries  adorned 
with  magnificence  and  attractive  through  their  sensu- 
alism, daring  the  anger  of  infuriated  priests  and  abso- 
lute tyrannies :  while  they  required,  as  the  only  method 
of  reconcdiation  to  God,  that  men  learned  and  unlearned 
freemen  and  slaves,  kings  and  people  of  all  nations  and 
lands,  should  bow  at  the  cross  of  an  excommunicated 
Jew  ;  yet  with  such  success,  that  though,  in  the  course 
of  three  centuries,  three  millions  of  them   had  been 
martyred  and  many  more  treated  as  infamous  and  de- 
serving of  all  outrage,  the  little  church,  at  first  not  six 
hundred  strong,  had  become,  even  in  what  the  world 
estimates  as  strength,  mightier  than  the  Roman  empire 
Itself,  —  absorbing  within  its  bosom  sects  of  philosophy 
religious   armies,    aristocracies    and   populace,    thouo-h 
never  a  sword  had  been  unsheathed  for  its  defence  or 
progress,  and  its  only  weapon  was  the  truth  of  the 
gospel,  confirmed  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus. 

And  what  motives  could  there  have  been  for  such  a 
conspiracy  ?    Why  should  the  apostles  with  their  attest- 
ing brethren,  after  having  had  proof  of  the  imposture, 
It  imposture  it  was,  have  united,  contrary  to  all  their 
avowed  love  of  divine  truth,  to  propagate  the  name  of 
the  deceiver  ?      That  priestcraft  in  all  ages  has  been 
cunning,  and  bold  with  schemes  to  attain  power  and 
wealth  and  luxurious  gratifications,  history  abundantly 
shows  ;  that  even  Christianity,  when  in  favor,  has  been 
prostituted  and  defiled  for  such  purposes  by  its  priests 
and  hierarchs,  that  astute  but  unscrupulous  rulers  have 
used  its  forced  alliance  to  strengthen  thrones  or  erect 
dynasties,  is  most  lamentably  true  ;  but  where  had  the 
apostles  such  inducements  ?     Forewarned  by  their  mas- 
ter that  they  should  suflTer  trial  in  every  form,  openly 


436 


THE  RESUREECTION  OF  CHRIST.         [Lect.  XX. 


LEcr.XX.]        THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 


43T 


foretelling  their  own  persecutions  and  martyrdom, 
promising  their  disciples  a  no  better  lot  than  their  own, 
they  lived  as  they  professed  to  live,  for  reward  after 
death,  in  an  eternity  where,  if  tliey  were  conspirators, 
and  blasphemers,  and  liars,  as  they  must  have  been  if 
Christ  had  not  risen,  they  could  have  expected  nothing 
short  of  utter  damnation. 

Now,  to  say  nothing  of  other  proofs,  many  of  which 
might  and  should  be  adduced  in  a  longer  treatise,  we 
may  safely  conclude,  as  sturdy  Barron  expresses  it, 
"  that  this  testimony  is  beyond  exception  ;  that  no  mat- 
ter of  fact  ever  had,  or  could  well  have,  a  more  valid 
and  certain  proof:  ....  so  that  to  refuse  it,  is  in  effect 
to  decline  all  proof  by  testimony,  to  renounce  all  cer- 
tainty in  human  affairs,  to  remove  all  grounds  of  pro- 
ceeding securely  in  any  business  or  administration  of 
justice,  to  impeach  all  history  of  fabulousness,  to  charge 
all  mankind  with  insufficiency  or  extreme  infidelity, 
and  to  thrust  God  away  from  bearing  credible  attesta- 
tion in  any  case."  Nay,  my  brethren,  may  it  not  be 
truly  said  that,  to  be  sceptical  of  the  great  fact  which 
we  this  day  celebrate,  requires  a  greater  credulity  than 
the  most  absurd  superstition  ?  At  this  very  hour,  all 
Christendom  is  exulting  in  honor  of  our  risen  Lord  ; 
earth  ascends  toward  heaven,  and  heaven  is  stooping 
toward  earth,  that  the  church  below  and  the  church 
above  may  blend  their  anthems  in  one  grand  harmony 
of  praise,  to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  for  our  offences 
and  raised  again  for  our  justification. 

Let  lis  now  follow  the  Catechism  in  ascertaining  how 
we  are  profited  by  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 
The  answer  supplied  us  is  :  •^• 


"  First,  by  his  resurrection,  he  hath  overcome  death, 
that  he  might  make  us  partakers  of  that  righteousness 
which  he  had  purchased  for  us  by  his  death  ;  secondly, 
we  are  also  by  his  power  raised  up  to  a  new  life ;  and, 
lastly,  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  a  sure  pledge  of  our 
blessed  resurrection." 

We  have  here,  to  reduce  the  doctrine  under  brief 
heads,  the  assurance  by  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 

First:   Of  our  justification. 

"  He  hath  overcome  death,  that  he  might  make  us 
partakers  of  that  righteousness  which  he  had  purchased 
for  us  by  his  death." 

Secondly  :    Cf  our  sanctification, 

"  We  are  also  by  his  power  raised  up  to  a  new  life." 

Thirdly  :    Of  our  final  and  full  glorification. 

"  The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  a  sure  pledge  of  our 
blessed  resurrection." 

First  :  The  resurrection  of  Christ  assures  us  of  our 
justification. 

The  divine  method  of  justifying  the  sinner  who  be- 
lieves in  Jesus,  through  the  imputation  of  the  infinitely 
meritorious    righteousness    wrought    for    us    by    our 
divine  Surety,  incarnate  as  our  elder  brother,  has  been 
handled  at  large  under  several  previous  sections  of  the 
Catechism,  and  need  not  now  be  formally  discussed. 
Let  us,  however,  remember  that,  in  his  atoning  work, 
Christ  acted  under  a  covenant  which  he  had  made  as 
our  representative  head  with  the  Father,  as  representing 
the  godhead  ;  and  the  conditions  of  the  gracious  cove- 
nant were,  that,  on  his  rendering  a  sufficient  honor  to 
the  law  which  they  had  broken,  the  salvation  of  his 
people  should  be  intrusted,  with  all  power  in  heaven 
and  earth,  to  his  mediatorial  hands.     It  was  necessary, 


J 


438 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.        [Lect.  XX. 


therefore,  not  only  that  he  should  be  divinely  acknowl- 
edged as  the  appointed  Mediator,  which  was  done  by 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  him  at  the  begin- 
ning of  his  ministry,  but  that,  when  his  atoning  work 
was  finished,  its  sufficiency  and  acceptance  should  be  as 
divinely   certified;    and    this  was  done   by  his   being 
raised  from  the  dead  to  the  right  hand  of  the  Father. 
Thus  the  apostle,  in  that  wonderful  verse  which  is  an 
epitome  of  the  whole  gospel :  "  Let  this  mind  be  in 
you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus ;  who,  being  in  the 
form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God,  but  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon 
him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  like- 
ness of  men  ;  and,  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he 
humbled  himself,  and  became   obedient  unto  (until) 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross ;    wherefore,  God 
also  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name 
which  is  above  every  name."      This  exaltation  was  the 
exaltation,  not  of  the  Son  of  God  merely,  for  he  needed 
none,  but  of  the  Son  of  God  incarnate^  as  a  servant,  in 
our    room;    and   was   the   reward   of   his    obedience 
wrought  out  all  his  life,  even  to  his  death  on  the  cross. 
In  other  words,  he  had  fulfilled  his  part  of  the  cove- 
nant by  rendering  an  infinitely  sufficient  righteousness; 
and  the  Father  fulfilled  his  part  by  exalting  the  cruci- 
fied Redeemer  to  infinite  power,  with  "  a  name  which 
is  above  every  name,  that,  at  the  name  of  Jesus,  every 
knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in 
earth,  and    things  under  the  earth;    and  that   every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father." 

The  fitness  of  such  a  recognition  is  apparent.     The 
death  passed  upon  the  sinner  by  sentence  of  the  law  is 


Lkct.  XX.]        THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  439 

eternal  death,  because  no  amount  of  punishment  that 
the  smner  can   endure  can  satisfy  the  law's  offended 
honor  :  he  can  never  pay  the  penal  debt,  and,  therefore, 
must  suflfer  on  forever,  because    never  relieved  from 
condemnation.      So,  had  Christ  not  risen  after  he  died, 
there  was  no  proof  that  the  honor  he  had  vicariously 
done  the  law  was  sufficient.     To  all  seeming,  his  death, 
hke  ours,  would  have  been  eternal,  and  our  representa- 
tive, like  ourselves,   remained  under  the  curse.     But 
when  he,  from  the  infinite  dignity  which  his  divine  na- 
ture gave  to  his  human  sacrifice,  had  honored  the  law 
by  the  obedience  of  his  active  life,  and  the  expiation  of 
his  submissive  death  had  rendered  the  law  an  infinite 
honor,  he  had  utterly  paid  the  penalty,  disarmed  the 
curse,  and   exhausted   death.      The   avenger   had   no 
power  over  him  ;  it  was  not  possible  that  he  should  be 
longer  holden  of  the  pains  of  death  ;  and,  therefore,  of 
his  own  right,  purchased  under  the  terms  of  the  cove- 
nant, the  Mediator  arose,  in  manifestation  that  his  sav- 
ing work  was  accomplished  and  accepted.      Thus  the 
writer  to  the  Hebrews  declares  that  "  the  God  of  peace 
brought  again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  the  great 
Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the  ever- 
lasting covenant ;  "  that  is,  through  the  virtue  of  his 
own  blood  shed  as  the  head  of  the  church,  under  the 
agreement  of  the  gracious  covenant ;  and,  in  another 
place,  the  same  writer  declares  that  the  Son  of  God  was 
sanctified  by  the  blood  of  the  covenant  (Heb.  x.  29). 
The  whole  argument  of  the  evangelical  scriptures  pro- 
ceeds upon   this.     The  victims, — goats,  or  sheep,  or 
calves,  slain  upon  the  Levitical  altar,  were  proved  to  be 
mere  types,  pointing  to  the  true  sacrifice,  but  in  them- 
selves insufficient  to  take  away  sin,  not  merely  because 


i 


440 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.       [Lect.  XX. 


of  their  unworthy  nature,  but  because,  when  slain,  they 
never  revived.     Hence  the  necessity  of  fresh  blood ; 
the  craving  law  was  never  satisfied,  the  penalty  was  not 
paid,  the  death  substituted  was  not  enough.      Nothing 
short  of  his  resurrection  could  show  that  the  sacrifice 
of  the  substitute  was  accepted  as  sufficient.     Thus  the 
writer  to  the  Hebrews :  "  For  the  law,  having  a  shadow 
of  good  things  to  come,  .  .  can  never,  with  those  sac- 
rifices which  they  offered   year   by  year  continually, 
make  the  comers  thereunto  perfect.      For  then  would 
they  not  have  ceased  to  be  offered  ?  because  that  the 
worshippers  once  purged  should  have  had  no  more  con- 
science of  sins.  .  .  .  And  every  priest  standeth  daily 
ministering  and  offering  oftentimes  the  same  sacrifices, 
which  can  never  take  away  sins  ;  but  this  man,  after 
he  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins  forever,  sat  down  at 
the  right  hand  of  God  ;  from  henceforth  expecting  till 
his  enemies  be  made  his  footstool.  For,  by  one  offering, 
he  hath  perfected  forever  them  that  are  sanctified/' 
From  the  moment  that  he  said  on  the  cross :  "  It  is  fin- 
ished !  "  the  justification  of  his  people  was  secured ; 
even   the  lifeless  body  of  the  Surety  passed  from  the 
hands  of  his  enemies  into  those  of  his  friends,  having 
suffered  no  farther  insult  except  the  rude  opening  of 
that  blessed  fountain   of  blood  and  water  which  has 
filled  for  us  the  pool  of  healing ;  and  he  lay  in  the  tomb 
only  long  enough  to  sweeten  it  for  our  rest :  but  the 
assurance,  the  divine  acknowledgment,  of  the  justifying 
merit,  was  not  given  till  his  resurrection.      Then  we 
see,  by  his  victory  of  the  grave,  that  the  sting  of  death 
was  plucked  out,  and  that  the  law  has  no  more  strength 
to  hold  us,  and  bless  with  triumphant  voices  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.     So  the  apostle  in  Romans :  "  Who  shall 


Lect.  XX.]        THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  44I 

lay  anything  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?  It  is  God 
that  justifieth.  Who  is  he  that  condemneth?  It  is 
Christ  that  died;  yea,  rather,  that  is  risen  again." 
And  in  full  sympathy  with  the  divine  word,  we  may 
exclaim,  in  tlie  words  of  the  seraphic  Hall :  "  Oh,  my 
dear  Saviour,  I  bless  thee  for  thy  death,  but  I  bless  thee 
more  for  thy  resurrection.  That  was  a  work  of  won- 
derful humility,  of  infinite  mercy ;  this,  a  work  of  infi- 
nite power.  In  that,  was  human  weakness;  in  this, 
divine  omnipotence.  In  that,  thou  '  wast  delivered  for 
our  offences ; '  in  this,  thou  '  wast  raised  again  for  our 
justification.'  " 

But  there  was  something  more  needed  than  the  dis- 
play of  his  acceptance  with  the  Father  ;  the  salvation  of 
his  people,  now  purchased  by  his  blood,  was   to  be 
accomplished  by  his  power.     He  was  to  ask  and  receive 
for  them  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and   by  that 
Spirit  make  them  actually  partakers  of  his  righteous- 
ness.     The  smitten,  feeble  flock  needed  the  care  and 
guidance  and  championship  of  its  great  and  good  Shep- 
herd ;  the  powers  of  hell  were  to  be  crippled,  and  the 
powers  of  heaven  and  earth  employed  for  the  triumph 
of  his  church  ;  the  gates  of  hell  were  to  be  borne  away, 
and  the  everiasting  doors  of  heaven  flung  open  for  their 
exodus  from   the   grave  to  immortality;    the  angelic 
armies  were  waiting  for  the  Lord  of  their  hosts,  the 
Captain  of  our  salvation,  to  lead  and  direct  them  in  the 
service  of  his  redeemed,  and  the  Father  expecting  him 
on  his  throne,  that,  to  his  coequal  divinity,  the  infinite 
rule  of  providence  might  be  given.      He  could  not  be 
Lord  of  the  living  while  he  remained  among  the  dead. 
None  but  the  risen  Lord  could  say  to  the  sorrowful  be- 
liever. Why  weepest  thou  ?  and  chase  away  his  tears 


442 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.        [Lect.  XX. 


Lect.XX.]        the  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 


443 


by  a  word  of  love.  None  but  the  risen  Lord  could  say 
to  the  doubting  one,  "  Be  not  faithless,  but  believing," 
wliile  he  opens  the  scriptures  concerning  himself  to  the 
illuminated  understanding.  None  but  the  risen  Lord 
could  say  to  his  messengers,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature ;  and  lo  !  I  am 
with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  "  No ! 
if  Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain ; " 
"  if  Christ  be  not  raised,  then  is  our  faith  vain  ;  we  are 
yet  in  our  sins ; "  "  if  for  this  life  only  we  have  hope 
in  Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable." 

Secondly  :  The  resurrection  of  Christ  assures  us  of 
our  sanctification. 

The  union  of  the  believer  Willi  Christ,  his  represen- 
tative head,  is  vital  and  perpetual.  "  I  am  crucified 
with  Christ,"  says  the  apostle,  "  nevertheless,  I  live  ; 
yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me  ;  and  the  life  that  I 
now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me."  As 
by  faith  he  dies  in  Christ's  death  on  the  cross,  so  by 
faith  he  lives  a  new  hfe  in  Christ's  life  after  death.  As 
Christ's  life  after  his  resurrection  was  a  heavenly  life, 
so  the  life  of  the  believer,  who  knows  the  power  of 
Christ's  resurrection,  as  well  as  the  fellowship  of  his 
sufferings,  is  made  conformable  to  Christ's  death  by 
dying  unto  sin,  and  aspiring  to  Christ's  life  in  heaven. 
This  is  the  generous  and  elevating  argument,  as  the 
apostle  gives  it :  "  Where  sin  abounded,  grace  did 
much  more  abound ;  that,  as  sin  hath  reigned  unto 
death,  even  so  might  grace  reign  through  righteousness 
unto  eternal  life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  What 
shall  we  say  then  ?  Shall  we  continue  in  sin,  that 
grace  may  abound  ?     God  forbid.     How  shall  we,  who 


are  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein  ?     Know  ye  not 
that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ 
were  baptized  into  his  death.     Therefore  we  are  buried 
with  him  by  baptism  into  death ;  that,  like  as  Christ 
was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  tlie  Father, 
even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life.     For, 
if  we  have  been  planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  his 
death,  we  shall  be  also  in  the  likeness  of  his  resurrec- 
tion ;  knowing  this,  that  our  old  man  is  crucified  with 
him,   that  the  body  of  sin   might  be  destroyed,   that 
henceforth  we  should  not  serve  sin.     For  he  that  is 
dead   is   freed   from  sin.     Now,  if  we  be  dead   with 
Christ,  we  believe  that  we  shall  also  live  with  him  ; 
knowing  that  Christ,  being  raised  from  the  dead,  dieth 
no  more  ;  death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  him.    For 
in  that  he  died,  he  died  unto  sin  once  ;  but  in  that  he 
liveth,  he  liveth  unto  God.      Likewise  reckon  ye  also 
yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto 
God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."      Nothino-  can 
be  clearer  than  this  expository  logic.    Sanctification  fol- 
lows necessarily  upon  justification  through  the  atone- 
ment of  Christ,  as  his  resurrection  followed  his  death. 
We  have  no  part  in  the  one,  if  we  do  not  feel  the 
power  of  the  other.* 

Besides,  as  we  learn  from  several  scriptures,  the 
same  Holy  Spirit  by  whose  power  Christ  was  raised, 
quickens  his  people  by  grace.  The  gift  of  that  Spirit 
without  measure  to  Christ  was  promised  him  in  the 
covenant:  "For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him 
fhould  all  fulness  dwell."      All  grace  comes  from  the 

•  See  Ephesians  i.  19-23;  ii.  6, 7.  The  parallel  is  drawn  between  the  rais- 
ing up  of  Christ  and  the  conversion  of  the  sinner.  Throughout  the  epistle, 
the  power  of  God  signifies  the  Holy  Ghost. 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.       [Lect.  XX. 

Father,  but  only  through  Christ,  and  through  Christ 
only   by   the   operating   energy   of  the   Holy   Ghost. 
Christ  needs  not  the  grace  for  himself,  but  receives  the 
fulness  of  tlie  Spirit,  that  of  his  fulness  we  all  might 
receive,  and  gi^ace  for  grace.     Hence  the  apostle  Peter, 
III  the  Pentecost,  proves  the   ascension  of  Christ,  and 
accounts  for  the  miraculous  effusion  of  spiritual  influ- 
aices  by  the  same  word.    "  This  Jesus  hath  God  raised 
up,  whereof  we  all  are  witnesses.     Therefore,  being  by 
the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having  received  of 
the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  hath 
shed  forth  this,  which  ye  now  see  and  hear."      That 
Holy  Spirit  purchased  for  us  by  his  merits,  and  ob- 
tained for  us  by  his  prayers,  he  continues  to  send  down 
upon  Christians  as  individuals,  and  as  a  church,  and 
will  until  the  consummation  in  glory.      The  grace  of 
the  Spirit  is  the  sanctifying  life  of  the'church,  sent  from 
the  head  of  the  body  through  all  his  members ;  and 
"  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us."     It  is  of 
this  inner  grace,  as  well  as  Christ's  power  over  provi- 
dence, that  the  apostle  was  thinking  when  he  says: 
"  God  commendeth  his  love  towards  us,  in  that,  while 
we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us.      Much  more, 
then,  being  now  justified  by  his   blood,  we  shall  be 
saved  from  wrath  through  him.     For  if,  when  we  were 
enemies,  we  were  reconciled  unto  God  by  the  death  of 
his  Son,  much  more,  being  reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved 
by  his  life ; "    that  is,  his  life  after  his  resurrection. 
Salvation    is  completed   only   through   sanctification  ; 
sanctification  only  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
and  that  grace  is  obtained  for  us  only  by  him  who  ever 
liveth   to   make  intercession  for  us.      So  the   apostle 
Peter,  spaking  of  our  lively  hope  from  the  resurrec- 


Lect.  XX.]         THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 


445 


tion  of  Jesus,  says  that  the  heavenly  inheritance  is 
"  reserved  "  for  those  "  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of 
God,  through  faith  unto  salvation."  Notwithstandincr 
all  Christ's  sufferings,  we  should  despair  of  reachin<^ 
heaven,  were  it  not  that  he  who  died  for  us  now  lives 
for  us,  to  make  us  more  than  conquerors  over  tempta- 
tion without  and  corruption  within.  Thus  it  is  that  we 
are  by  his  power  raised  up  to  a  new  life  ;  and  now,  be- 
cause Christ  that  died  is  risen  again,  and  is  now  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  and  also  maketh  intercession  for  us, 
we  know  that  the  author  will  be  the  finisher  of  our  faith, 
and  may  well  be  persuaded  that  nothing  will  be  able 
to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord.  "  Because  he  lives,  we  shall  live  also." 
Thirdly  :  The  resurrection  of  Christ  assures  us  of 
our  final  and  full  glorification. 

The  answer  in  the  Catechism  is  confined  to  our  res- 
urrection, and  the  ascension  of  Christ  is  the  subject  of 
the  next  article,  the  discussion  of  which  will  involve 
our  assurance  of  an  entrance  with  him  into  glory.   But, 
though  theologians  distinguish,  and  very  properly,  the 
several  degrees  of  our  Lord's  exaltation,  the  Scriptures 
oflen  speak  of  his  resurrection  and  ascension  together, 
as  though  his  ascension  began  in  his  rising  from  the 
grave,  and  finished  in  his  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father.      So  in  Philippians :  "  He  was  obedient 
unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross:  wherefore  God 
hath  highly  exalted   him."      "  This  Jesus  hath  God 
raised  up,"  says  the  apostle  at  the  Pentecost,  "  whereof 
we  all  are  witnesses.      Therefore,  being  by  the  right 
hand  of  God  exalted,  .  •  .  .  he  hath  shed  forth  this," 
manifestly  from  his  throne ;  and  in  his  first  epistle  he 
says  that,  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  are 


If 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.       [Lkct.  XX. 

Ijegoflen  to  a  lively  hope  of  our  heavenly  inheritance. 
If  a  view  we  took  of  the  matter  in  our  study  of  the  last 
Lord's  Day  be  correct,  our  Lord  ascended  to  his  Father 
immediately  after  he  arose,  though  for  obvious  reasons 
he  returned  at  intervals  to  show  himself  to  his  disciples, 
and  to  make  a  formal,  visible  ascension  at  the  end  of 
forty  days.      Certainly,  the  apostle  Paul   teaches  that 
there  will  be  no  such  interval  (as,  indeed,  there  is  no 
reason  for  it)  between  the  rising  of  the  saints,  and  their 
reception  into  glory :  "  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we 
shall  all  be  changed,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,  at  the  last  trump."      The  change  spoken  of  is 
into  glory.      So  again  :  "  The  Lord  himself  shall  de- 
scend from  heaven  with  ashout,  with  the  voice  of  the 
archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God  ;  and  the  dead 
ill  Christ  shall  rise  first:  then  we  which  are  alive  and 
remain  (that  is,  those  Christians  who  shall  be  living  at 
the  time)  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them  in'^the 
clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  tlie  air:  so  shall  we  be  ever 
with  the  Lord."      It  is  impossible,  therefore,  for  us  not 
li  connect  closely  our  glorification  with  our  resurrec- 
tfum.      The  resurrection  promised  us  is  not  a  renewal 
of  our  animal  life,  nor  a  life  to  be  spent  upon  earth, 
even   in   part,   but   an   instant  and   full   entrance   to 
heaven,  of  which  our  Lord's  ascension  was  both  type 
and  assurance. 

He  died  and  was  buried,  not  as  an  individual  man, 
but  as  the  recognized  head  of  his  church  ;  and,  there- 
fore, he  arose  not  as  an  individual,  but  as  the  head 
of  his  church,  in  which  capacity  he  also  ascended  to 
heaven  and  now  reigns  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father. 
But  if  the  head  ascends,  the  body  ascends  with  it 
Thus  I  find  that  the  Latin  translators  of  the  Catechism 


Lkct.  XX.]  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 


447 


insert  the  word  "  Head  "  here  :  "  The  resurrection  of 
Christ  our  Head  is  a  sure  pledge  of  our  blessed  resur- 
rection." All  who  by  faith  die  with  him,  shall,  through 
the  indissolubleness  of  their  vital  union  to  him,  rise 
with  him,  that,  as  they  have  partaken  of  his  shame,  they 
may  partake  of  his  glory.  The  consummation  of  this 
privilege  is  for  wise  reasons  delayed,  but  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  is  the  assurance  of  its  certainty.  For  as 
without  the  resurrection  of  Christ  we  should  have  no 
proof  that  he  is  the  Saviour,  so  except  we  shall  be 
raised  we  can  have  no  salvation. 

The  soul  of  the  believer  could  not  at  death  enter 
heaven  unless  it  was  made  certain  that  in  due  time  his 
body  should  be  raised  also.     For  the  soul  of  the  man 
is  not  the  man ;  neither  is  the  body  of  a  man,  the  man  : 
the  man  is  not  perfect,  the  whole  man  is  not  saved, 
except  he  be  saved  soul  and  body.     The  curse  of  death 
fell  upon  man,  both  soul  and  body ;  the  grace  of  eter- 
nal life  through  the  second  Adam  is  given  to  the  be- 
liever, both  soul  and  body.     The  Son  of  God,  when  he 
came  to  be  incarnate  as  our  Surety,  took  to  himself  a 
human  body  and  soul,  else  would  he  not  have  been  a 
man  :  so  he  suffered  for  us  the  pains  of  the  curse  in 
both  his  body  and  his  soul ;    and  so  he  rose  as  our 
Surety,  having  accomplished  the  atonement,  both  body 
and  soul.     So,  also,  because  of  his  acknowledged  satis- 
faction, shall  we  who  believe  in  him  be  redeemed,  body 
and  soul,  and  raised  to  the  blessedness  where  he  is. 
Thus  the  apostle  :  "  Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead, 
and  become  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept.    For  since 
by  man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead.     For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  air  be  made  alive.     But  every  man  (each)  in  his 


f 


i 


448' 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.         [Lkct.  XX. 


own  order :  Christ  the  first-fruits  ;  afterward  they  that 
are  Christ's  at  his  coming."  The  argument  is  brief,  but 
conclusive.  Other  questions  on  this  doctrine  will  be 
discussed,  when  we  come  to  the  article  on  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body. 

For  the  present  let  us  rejoice  that  "  this  mortal  shall 
put  on  immortality,  and  this  corruption,  incormption." 
Our  life  is  brief,  so  was  our  Lord's  ;  it  is  full  of  sorrows, 
but  his  incomparably  fuller ;  it  is  racked  with  pain,  but 
never  so  exquisite  and  manifold  as  his ;  it  is  worse  than 
grief  and  torture,  it  is  polluted  with  sin,  and  there  we 
are  unlike  him,  the  holy,  harmless,  and  undefiled  ;  it 
ends  with  agony  and  death  and  the  grave,  and  to  the 
close  we  may  track  his  blood-stained  footsteps.  But  this 
is  not  all  of  life  :  Christ  has  risen  to  a  life  eternal,  heav- 
enly, holy,  and  blest.  So  shall  all  his  people  live,  where 
sin  or  sorrow  or  pain  or  death  can  reach  them  no  more 
forever. 

O  beloved  friends,  shall  all  of  us  have  part  in  that 
blessed  resurrection  ?  Have  we  all  been  crucified  with 
Christ  ?  Have  we  all  been  converted,  are  we  all  sanc- 
tified to  newness  of  life  ?  Have  we  all  set  our  affec- 
tions beyond  and  far  above  this  world,  where  Christ 
sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God  ?  O  let  us  see  to  it 
that  we  are  sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise ; 
for  a  new  heart,  and  a  Christian  life  here,  is  the  only 
earnest  of  a  glorious  life  hereafter. 

O  remember  (God,  for  his  Son's  sake,  make  us  all 
remember !)  that  there  is  also  a  resurrection  unto  dam- 
nation, and  that  all  who  are  not  Christ's  in  faith,  certi- 
fied by  practice,  pass  through  death  and  the  grave  into 
the  second  death,  and  hell,  from  which  there  is  no  re- 
turn forever  I     It  is  a  terrible  alternative  !     Save  us, 


Leot.  XX.]        THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  449 

O  heavenly  Father !  Save  us,  O  Holy  Spirit !  Save 
us,  O  Jesus  Christ !  Standing  beside  the  broken  tomb 
of  the  crucified,  and  looking  up  through  the  rent  vail 
to  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb,  we  pray,  Save  us 
fi'om  eternal  death  I 


VOL.  I. 


29 


LECTURE  XXI. 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST. 


■    I' 
j 


EIGHTEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST. 

"  He  ascended  into  heaven." 

^""Tea^nV^'    ^"^  "^'^  *^  understand  these  vx>rds:  "He  ascended  into 
Ans.    That  Christ,  in  sight  of  his  disciples,  was  taken  up  from  earth  into 

.Zl\ '  -^^i      .f  ^'  ?'"*^''"''  "^^'^  ^^'  ^"^  '^^«r««t,  until  he  come 
agam  to  judge  the  quick  and  dead. 

Ass.    Christ  is  veiy  man  and  very  God;  with  respect  to  his  human  nature 

^Z  -LT'-r.'*'^^'  ^"'  ""''^  '''^'''  ''  ^''  ««dh«^d.  "majesty, 
grace,  and  Spint,  he  IS  at  no  time  absent  from  us. 
Quest.  XLVIII.    But  if  his  human  nature  is  not  present  wherever  his  God- 

mother t'"''^  "'''  '^''^  ^^^  '"^  "''^"'*'*  *"  ^'*^'  separated  fr<m  ont 

Aks.    Not  at  all;  for  since  the  Godhead  is  incomprehensible  and  omni- 

present,  it  must  necessarily  follow  that  the  same  is  not  limited  with  the 

OuKsxTlT^'n^'  r"T^'  "°^  ^'*  '"^"^"^  P^^^°«"^  ^"'ted  to  it. 
yuEST.  XLIX      Of  what  advantage  to  us  is  ChrUVs  ascension  into  heaven  f 

ANS.     First,  that  he  is  our  advocate  in  the  presence  of  his  Father  in 

heaven  ;  secondly,  that  we  have  our  flesh  in  heaven,  as  a  sure  pledge 

!^l  f^  .1  ''u^l"'  ^'^^  ^P^"'  ^  ^"  ^^"^^^^  1^3^  wl^«««  power  we 
seek  the  thmgs  which  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  on  the  right 
hand  of  God,  and  not  things  on  earth. 

A  LTHOUGH  Christ's  satisfaction  for  his  people  was 
complete  when  on  the  cross  he  said, "  It  is  finished ! '' 
and  bowed  his  head  and  gave  up  the  ghost,  and  although 
Its  completeness  was  certified  by  his  resurrection,  which 
showed  that  death  had  no  power  over  him,  there  re- 
mained yet  much  to  be  accomplished  by  him  for  the 
full  redemption  of  his  church  in  glory ;  and  since  he 


454 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  [Lkct.  XXI. 


came  from  the  bosom  of  his  Father,  it  was  necessary 
to  the  manifestatiofi  of  his  consummate  acceptance  as 
our  mediatorial  Head  that  he  should,  according  to  his 
own  word,  "  ascend  up  where  he  was  before."  Hence 
the  ascension  of  Christ  into  heaven  is  a  most  important 
and  edifying  article  of  our  Christian  belief.  Indeed, 
except  we  rightly  understand  and  personally  apprehend 
the  doctrine  of  this  great  fact,  it  is  impossible  to  enjoy 
the  best  comforts  of  our  holy  religion,  or  to  acquire  the 
divine  strength  essential  for  our  perseverance  in  a 
Christian  life.     May  God  help  us  in  our  pious  study  I 

Our  church,  in  the  lesson  of  the  Catechism  to-day, 
supplies  us  with  an  excellent  method  of  thought,  which, 
by  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  shall  endeavor  to 
follow. 

First  ;  T%e  fact  of  our  Lord!s  ascension  (46th  Ques. 
and  Ans.),  with  some  explanations  (47th,  48th). 

Secondly  :  The  advantage  it  is  to  us  (49th). 

First  :  T7ie  fact  of  our  LorcTs  ascension  into  heaven. 

The  testimony  recorded  by  the  evangelical  writers  is 
abundantly  sufficient  for  our  faith. 

The  evangelist  Mark  declares  (xvi.  19),  that  after 
Jesus  "  had  spoken  "  unto  his  disciples,  "  he  was  re- 
ceived up  into  heaven,  and  sat  on  the  right  hand  of 
God."  The  evangelist  Luke,  in  the  last  chapter  of  his 
Gospel,  and  the  first  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  gives 
a  particular  account  of  the  event.  He  ascended  in 
fiiU  view  of  the  eleven,  and,  probably,  of  the  pious 
women,  his  mother,  and  some  of  his  believing  kins- 
men (Acts  i.  13,  14).  After  a  cloud  had  received 
him  out  of  their  sight,  two  angels  appeared,  declaring 
that  he  had  been  taken  up  into  heaven  (11th).  Stephen, 
the  protoraartyr,  at  his  death,  (vii.  56,)  and  Paul  at 


Lect.  XXI.]  the  ascension  of  CHRIST. 


455 


his  conversion,  (ix.  1-17,)  saw  the  Lord  Jesus  in  heaven, 
as  also  did  John  in  the  apocalyptic  vision  (Rev.  i.  13-18). 
The  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  the  Pentecost  con- 
firms it,  when  we  compare  the  prophecy  (Ps.  Ixviii. 
18) :  "  Thou  hast  ascended  on  high  ;  thou  hast  led  cap- 
tivity captive  ;  thou  hast  received  gifts  for  men;  yea, 
for  the  rebeUious  also,  that  the  Lord  God  might  dwell 
among   them;"    with  the  apostle  Peter's  declaration 
(Acts  ii.  33) :  "  Therefore  (Jesus)  being  by  the  right 
hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having  received  of  the  Father 
lithe  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  hath  shed  forth  this 
which  ye  now  see  and  hear ;  "  and  also  that  of  the 
apostle  Paul  (Ephes.  iv.  7,  8):  "Unto  everyone  of 
us  is  given  grace  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift 
of  Christ  (that  is,  the  Spirit).     Wherefore  he  saith, 
When  he  ascended  up  on  high,  he  led  captivity  captive, 
and  gave  gifts  unto  men." 

The  time  of  our  Lord's   ascension  was  forty  days 
after  he  had  risen  from  the  dead,  he  having  been  with 
his  disciples  repeatedly  during  that  interval,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  proving  to  them  his  resurrection,  teaching  them 
more  fully  his  doctrine,  and  giving  them  directions  how 
they  should  serve  him  after  his  departure.      Why  this 
interval  was  forty  days  we  are  not  told.      Moses  was 
the  same  time  in  the  mount  after  he  had  brought  down 
the  moral  law,  wliich  had  the  sentence  of  death,  while 
receiving  the  typical  law,  which  foreshadowed  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  (Ex.  xxiv.  18).      Elijah  travelled  forty 
days  in  the  strength  of  the  food  brought  him  by  the 
angel,  until  he  reached  Horeb,  where  he  heard  Jehovah 
in  the  still  small  voice,  the  type  of  the  Holy  Ghost  (I 
Kings  xix.  5-12).       Jesus  himself  fasted  forty  days 
between  his  unction  and  his  triumph  over  the  tempter ; 


456 


itSCENSmif  OF  CHRIST:        [Lect.  XXI. 


and  several  other  instances  show  that  to  have  been  a 
period  often  fixed  by  God,  doubtless  for  wise  reasons. 
But  the  most  interesting  parallel  is  the  forty  days  from 
his  birth  to  his  presentation  in  the  temple  (compare 
Luke  ii.  22,  with  Leviticus  xii.  2,  4,  6).  "  So,"  as  our 
Witsius  observes,  "  on  the  fortieth  day  after  his  resur- 
rection, which  was  a  second  nativity,  he  went  to  appear 
before  his  heavenly  Father  in  the  temple  not  made  with 
hands."  The  time  was  long  enough  for  the  purposes 
to  which  he  put  it,  but  brought  to  a  close  the  moment 
when  the  disciples  showed  a  supposition  that  he  was 
about  establishing  a  temporal  kingdom  on  earth: 
"  Lord,"  said  they,  "  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  the 
kingdom  to  Israel?"— and  immediately  after  he  had 
answered  them,  referring  to  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  while 
they  beheld  "  he  was  taken  up"  (Acts  i.  6-9).  In 
the  course  of  these  forty  days  he  appeared,  as  recorded 
by  the  evangelists,  at  least  eight  times,  and  the  disciples 
had  the  most  convincing  proof  of  his  having  risen 
bodily  from  the  grave. 

The  place  from  which  he  ascended  was  Bethany :  not 
the  village,  as  that  was  fifteen  ftirlongs  from  Jerusalem, 
and  he  would  hardly  have  chosen  a  spot  where  there 
must  have  been  many  unbelieving  spectators ;  but  the 
district  of  Bethany,  which  lay  on  the  near  side  of 
Mount  Olivet,  adjoining  the  district  of  Bethphage,  and 
about  a  mile,  or  a  Sabbath-day's  journey,  from  Jerusa- 
lem (Acts  i.  12  ;  Luke  xxiv.  50,  51 ;  John  xi.  18). 
"  He  led  them  out  as  far  as  Bethany  ;  "  that  is,  to  the 
spot  where  the  district  began.  The  Mount  of  Olives, 
and  the  district  of  Bethany  in  particular,  were  dear  to 
Jesus  from  many  delightftil  associations ;  and,  if  we 
adopt  the  etymology  which  makes  Bethany  signify  the 


Lect.  XXI.]  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  457 

place  of  sorrow,  there  is  an  eloquent  fitness  in  his  as- 
cension thence  from  our  sorrowftd  earth  to  his  heaven 
01  joy. 

He  actually  ascended.  It  was  no  vision ;  in  the  clear 
daylight,  the  disciples  saw  him  parted  from  them,  and 
going  up  through  the  atmosphere. 

God  the  Father,  by  the  efficient  Spirit,  took  him  up. 
It  is  probable  that  he  was  borne  aloft  by  invisible 
angels,  as  by  those  ministe'ring  spirits  God  executes  his 
works ;  yet  we  are  right,  also,  in  saying  that  he  went 
up,  or  ascended,  by  his  own  power,  —  the  power  of  his 
personal  divinity,  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  within 
him,  and  the  power  which  he  had,  by  prerogative  of  his 
mediatorship,  purchased  by  his  accepted  atonement. 

He  went  up  body  as  well  as  spirit      He  carried  his 
entire   humanity  up   with   him;    the   very   humanity 
which  had  been  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  which  had 
gone  through  the  sorrows,  duties,  and  temptations  of 
our  mortal  life  ;  which  had  been  "  crucified,  dead,  and 
buried."      This   we  know  from  many  scriptures,  as 
(Heb.  iv.  14)  where  it  is  said  that  Jesus  (our  Lord's 
name  as  the  Son  of  Man),  "  our  great  High  Priest," 
"  has  passed  into  the  heavens."    Again  (x.  12)  :  "  This 
toan  (that  is,  this  very  same  person),  after  he  had  of- 
fered one  sacrifice  for  sins,  forever  sat  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  God."    Again  (19,  20)  :  "  Having,  therefore, 
brethren,  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood 
of  Jesus  by  a  new  (freshly  slain)  and  Hving  way, 
which  he  hath  consecrated  for  us,  through  the  vail,  that 
is  to  say,  hfs  flesh,"  etc.     His  recently  slain  yet  living 
flesh  is  the  way  into  the  holiest  (the  presence  of  God), 
which   he  has   consecrated  for  us,  by  which   to  pass 
through  the  vail.     The  same  is  taught  by  those  pas- 


• 


458 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.         [Lect.  XXI. 


1- 

i 


f\ 


sages  which  assert  that  the  glorified  body  of  the  second 
Adam,  our  Redeemer,  is  the  pattern  and  earnest  of  the 
glory  that  will  invest  the  heavenly  bodies  of  his  saints 
(1  Cor.  XV.  42-49 ;  Phil.  iii.  21). 

He  went  up  into  heaven.  Heaven  is  the  place  or 
state  where  God  dwells  in  his  highest,  most  resplendent 
glory.  The  Jews  supposed  that  heaven  was  supernal, 
or  beyond  the  earth's  atmosphere,  and  the  language  of 
Scripture  is  in  accordance  with  their  opinion.  Thus, 
from  every  part  of  the  earth's  surface,  the  way  to 
heaven  is  upward.  It  is  remarkable,  also,  that  heaven, 
as  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  seems  to  have 
descended,  meeting  the  Lord  as  he  rose.  "  A  cloud 
received  him  out  of  their  sight "  (Acts  i.  9)  ;  not  a 
dark  cloud,  that  would  have  been  inconsistent  with  the 
purport  of  the  scene ;  but,  probably,  as  the  early 
church  believed,  a  bright  cloud,  like  the  Shekinah,  or 
that  on  Tabor,  (Matt.  xvii.  5,)  or  the  light  to  which  no 
man  can  approach,  within  whose  brightness  the  king 
immortal  dwells  (1  Tim.  vi.  16).  We  may  compare 
this  with  Psalm  xviii.  9 :  "  He  bowed  the  heavens 
also,  and  came  down ; "  and  many  other  scriptures 
which  show  that  when  God  makes  a  special  manifesta- 
tion of  his  presence,  he  depresses  heaven  towards  the 
earth,  as  now  he  met  Jesus  in  the  air. 

Thus  our  incarnate  Lord  ascended  into  heaven,  to 
his  Father's  immediate  presence,  for  us  ;  "  higher  than 
the  heavens,"  "  above  all  heavens,"  "  through  the 
heavens  ;  "  that  is,  to  the  very  highest  seat  of  the  maj- 
esty on  high ;  not  only  entering  the  glory,  but  himself 
glorified  in  it.  As  we  read  in  a  former  part  of  the 
gospel  (John  vii.  39)  :  "  The  Holy  Ghost  was  not  yet 
given,  because  that  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified ;  "  and 


Lect.  XXL]  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST. 


459 


he  prayed  before  his  passion  :  "  I  have  glorified  thee  on 
earth ;  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me 
to  do.  And  now,  O  Father,  glorify  thou  me  with 
thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee 
before  the  worid  was."  To  such  a  height  of  divine 
glory  did  Jesus  carry  our  human  nature  with  him. 

The  47  th  and  48th  questions  and  answers  are  in- 
tended to  meet  certain  objections  supposed  to  be  made 
against  the  true  doctrine  of  our  Lord's  person,  and 
have  reference  to  an  opinion  held  by  the  Papists  and 
some  others,  especially  among  the  followers  of  Luther, 
that  the  Saviour's  humanity  may  be  omnipresent,  as  in 
the  bread  and  wine  of  the  sacrament,  which  they  con- 
tend is  transubstantiated  to,  or  consubstantiated  with, 
his  body.    These  ubiquitarians  (as  they  are  called,  from 
ubique,  everywhere)  cite  in  support  of  their  notion  the 
promise  of  our  Lord  to  the  church :  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  worid."     How,  say 
they,  can  Christ  be  with  his  people,  if  he  be  not  per- 
sonally everywhere  ?     And  since  it  is  admitted  on  all 
hands  that  his  divinity  is  omnipresent,  how  can  his 
humanity  be  united  to  his  divinity,  if  it  be  not  omni- 
present also  ?      Or  how,  if  this  be  not  so,  can  Christ 
"fill  all  things,"  according   to  the  testimony  of  the 
apostle  Paul?     To  all  this  our  church  most  conclu- 
sively answers  by  saying  that  our  Lord,  being  both  God 
and  man,  is,  indeed,  present  with  us  in  his  divine  na- 
ture, especially  by  his  power,  grace,  and  Holy  Spirit; 
but  that  his  human  nature,  being  essentially  limited, 
cannot  be  with  us  on  earth  while  it  is  in  heaven.     Nor 
does  this  bring  into  doubt  the  unity  of  his  person,  since 
he  assumed  the  human  nature  to  his  divinity  ;  his  hu- 
manity continuing  finite,  else  it  ceases  to  have  a  main 


% 


460 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST. 


[Lectt.  XXI. 


quality  of  humanity,  the  divinity  continuing  infinite, 
else  it  ceases  to  be  divine.  For  when  it  is  said  that 
God  dwells  in  the  flesh,  it  must  not  be  thought  that  the 
divine  nature  is  circumscribed  by  the  human,  but  that 
it  manifests  itself  through  the  finite  nature  thus  ad- 
joined. The  divinity  is  ever  present  with  the  human- 
ity ;  but  the  humanity  is  not  everywhere  present  with 
the  divinity.  Thus  our  Lord  expressly  said  to  his  dis- 
ciples :  "  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away :  for  if 
I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you ; 
but,  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him  unto  you."  Christ  did 
go  away ;  his  disciples  saw  his  human  nature  ascend  into 
heaven  ;  and  afterward  at  the  Pentecost  he  did  send,  as 
since  he  has  continued  to  send,  his  Holy  Spirit  from 
the  right  hand  of  the  Father.  Nay,  on  any  other 
ground,  what  can  be  the  meaning  of  those  many  texts 
which  promise  that  Christ  will  come  again  to  judge  the 
world,  and  to  receive  his  people  to  himself,  that  where 
he  is  they  may  be  also  ? 

Secondly  :  The  advantage  to  us  of  our  Lord's  ascen- 
sion (49th). 

As  we  had  occasion  to  say  when  treating  of  our 
Lord's  resurrection  from  the  dead,  we  must,  as  the 
Scripture  teaches  us,  consider  the  resurrection  complete 
in  the  ascension  to  glory.  He  came  from  heaven  to 
accomplish  the  atonement  in  his  death ;  therefore,  his 
assumption  fi'om  death  to  heaven  proved  that  his  vica- 
rious righteousness  was  complete  and  accepted.  Noting 
this  point  we  pass  to  those  of  the  Catechism,  which  are 
three. 

1.  Christ  is  our  advocate  in  the  presence  of  his 
Father  in  heaven. 

This  advocacy,  or  pleading  on  behalf  of  his  people, 


Lect.  XXL]         THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  461 

we  are  told  by  many  scriptures,  especiallv  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  is  a  large  part  of  Christ's  office  in 
heaven.      The  Jewish  high  priest,  the  accurate  type 
ot  Christ,  once  a  year,  after  he  had  offered  on  the  altar 
the  great  sacrifice  of  atonement,  also  a  direct  type  of 
the  suffering  Saviour,  passed  within  the  vail  that  ex- 
cluded all  but  himself  from  the  Holy  of  Holies  ;  bear- 
mg  with  him  some  of  the  victim's  blood,  which  he 
sprinkled  on  the  propitiatory,  or  mercy-seat,  that  cov- 
ered m  the  ark  the  law  broken  by  sin ;  and,  having 
thus  presented  the  sign  of  atonement  in  the  presence 
of  Jehovah,  he  then  and  there  made  intercession  for 
the  people  whom  he  represented.     Let  us  also  connect 
with  this  the  memorable  fact  that,  at  the  dedication  of 
the  first  temple,  the  type  of  the  true  church,  "fire  came 
down  from  heaven  and  consumed  the  burnt-offering 
and  the  sacrifices,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  (that  vis- 
ible glory  which  symbolized  the  spiritual  presence  of 
Jehovah)  filled  the  house,"  and  so  consecrated  it  as  his 
own.     Thus,  when  our  great  High  Priest  Jesus  had 
completed  his  atonement  for  us,  he  carried  with  him 
into  the  highest,  holiest  heavens  the  immediate  pres- 
ence of  God,— not  merely  his  blood,  for  that  was  the 
sign  of  a  dead  sacrifice ;  but  — his  reanimated,  immortal 
body  which  had  been  sacrificed  on  the  cross,  God  rend- 
ing the  vail  before  him  and  leaving  it  rent,  in  token 
that  all  may  draw  nigh  through  him  ;  and  there,  not 
like  his  sinful  type  pleading  as  a  suppliant,  but  as  the 
Son  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father,  claiming 
the   covenanted  prerogatives  of  his   mediatorship,  he 
asked,  and,  blessed  be  his  name !  ever  liveth  to  ask  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  seal  forgiveness  and  adojy- 
tion  on  the  hearts  of  his  people  as  the  divine  assurance 


462 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST. 


PdSPX.  XXI. 


that  his  ransomed  church  is  accepted  and  consecrated 
of  God  for  his  sake.  The  typical  sacrifice  was  oflFered 
repeatedly,  because  it  was  only  a  type  ;  the  typical 
high  priest  entered  the  Holy  of  Holies  every  year, 
because  he  was  only  a  type ;  but  our  true  Sacrifice, 
having  offered  himself  once  for  all,  rose  from  the  dead 
because  his  atonement  was  infinitely  sufficient ;  and  our 
true  Hiffh  Priest  having  entered  heaven  to  receive  the 
blessings  of  his  purchase,  "  forever  sat  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  from  henceforth  expecting  till  his  enemies 
.be  made  his  footstool ;  for  by  one  offering  he  hath  per- 
fected forever  them  that  are  sanctified."  Hence  the 
effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  —  which  had  not  before 
been  given,  or  given  only  in  preliminary  drops,  because 
Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified  —  upon  the  church  at  the 
Pentecost  when  Jesus  was  by  the  right  hand  of  God 
exalted ;  and  hence,  because  he  continues  in  his  glory, 
the  grace  from  on  high  continues  to  descend,  and  will 
continue  until  his  whole  ransomed  church  is  complete 
in  glory  like  himself.  Yes,  dear  Christians,  the  ascen- 
sion of  our  faithful  Lord,  of  which  we  have  proof  in 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  to  us  a  demonstration 
that  we  have  an  advocate  on  high,  who  will  not  forget 
those  whom  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  his  brethren,  who 
will  ask  for  us  all  that  we  need ;  and  who  can  never 
ask,  as  our  necessities  can  never  require,  more  than  his 
merits  deserve  or  his  almighty  Father  will  delight  to 
give.  The  vail  is  rent ;  and  though  our  mortal  eyes 
cannot  pierce  the  invisible  world,  our  faith  sees  Jesus, 
our  head,  on  his  peerless  throne.  Let  us  then  exult 
with  the  apostle  and  say  to  each  other,  as  he  said  to 
the  Hebrew  Christians  :  "  Having,  therefore,  brethren, 
boldness  to  enter  into  the  Holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus, 


Lkct.XXI.]  the  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST. 


463 


by  a  new  and  living  way,  which  he  hath  consecrated 
for  us,  through  the  vail,  that  is  to  say,  his  flesh  ;  and, 
havmg  an  High  Priest  over  the  house  of  God,  let  us 
draw  near  with  a  true  heart  in  full  assurance  of  faith." 
The  weak  prayers  which,  rising  from  our  sinful  hearts, 
a  just  God  would  not  listen  to,  can  reach  the  ear  of 
our  sympathizing  brother ;  and  he,  combining  with  them 
his  mediatorial  right  and  divine  eloquence,  will  make 
them  infallibly  prevalent.  None  can  fail  who  plead 
through  Christ. 

2.  "  We  have  our  flesh  in  heaven,  as  a  sure  pledge 
that  he  as  the  head  will  also  take  up  to  himself  us,  his 
members." 

Our  Lord,  as  we  have  seen,  actually  ascended  body 
and  soul  into  heaven,  and  there  he  now  lives,  a  perfect 
man,  at  the  right  hand  of  God.     As  truly  as  his  blessed 
body  was  born,  lived,  suffered,  died,  and  rose  again,  so 
truly  is  it  at  this  moment  in  heaven.     Hence  we  learn 
that  there  is  no  physical  reason  against  our  humanity 
being  received  into  heaven  and  living  there.    It  is  true, 
as  was  shown  in  our  last  lesson,  the  life  which  Christ 
has  had  since  his  resurrection,  differs  from  that  which 
he  had  before  his  death,  being  derived  not  from  birth 
of  a  woman,  but  from  the  immediate  power  of  God ; 
yet  his  human  nature  continued  unchanged  in   any 
essential  quality,  and  will  continue  the  same  forever. 
It  was  our  nature  he  had  on  earth,  it  is  our  nature  he 
has  in  heaven ;  where  the  man  Christ  Jesus  lives  we 
may  live.     He  triumphantly  entered  heaven  not  for 
himself  alone :  as   the  eternal  Son  of  God  it  was  his 
by  original  right ;  but,  as  the  head  of  his  church,  the 
kmsman,  redeemer  of  his  people,  he  took  possession 
of  their  heavenly  inheritance,  "  which  hope,"  says  the 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST. 


[Lect.  XXI. 


apostle  to  the  Hebrews,  meaning  the  hope  of  heaven, 
"  we  have  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul,  both  sure  and  stead- 
fast, and  which  entereth  into  that  within  the  vail; 
whither  the  forerunner  is  for  us  entered,  even  Jesus, 
made  an  High  Priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Mel- 
chizedec."  The  sublime  elevation  of  Christ  has  not 
separated  him  from  his  people.  He  is  still  their  head, 
and  they  his  body.  He  still  represents  them  as  their 
champion,  advocate,  and  king.  "Where  my  flesh 
reigns,  I  reign,"  says  Augustine.  As  in  his  death  our 
shame  was  upon  him,  so  in  his  majesty  his  glory  will  be 
ipLpon  us.  "  I  go,"  said  he  to  his  disciples  as  the  time 
approached  when  he  should  be  received  up,  "  to  prepare 
a  place  for  you ;  and  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for 
you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  to  myself,  that 
where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also."  The  express  pur- 
pose for  which  he  ascended  was  to  prepare  places  for  us 
near  his  own,  and  his  purpose  would  fail  did  he  not  take 
up  to  himself  us,  his  members. 

And  here  I  cannot  deny  you,  or  myself,  the  pleasure 
of  enjoying  the  eloquence  of  Witsius,  whose  soul  bums 
with  more  than  seraphic  fire,  while  expatiating  on  this 
animating  theme.  "  It  was  important  to  Christ,  that 
he  should  possess  the  right  which  he  had  procured  for 
himself,  and  that,  having  valiantly  and  successfully 
overthrown  his  enemies,  he  should  be  carried  in  a  tri- 
umphal chariot,  and  amidst  the  shrieks  of  devils,  and 
the  acclamations  of  angels,  amidst  the  amazement  of  the 
wicked,  and  the  choruses  of  the  faithful,  make  a  glori- 
ous and  joyful  entry,  not  into  a  capitol  like  that  of 
Rome,  but  into  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  the  temple 
not  made  with  hands,  there  to  enjoy  a  delightful  rest 
after  the  long  travail  of  his  soul There  (also) 


I«CT.  XXL]  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  455 

had  he  to  set  up  his  chair  as  a  prophet,  that  he  mi^ht 
instruct  Ins  people  by  his  Spirit,  Uo  irradiates^hd 
mmds  from  above.     There  he  had  to  appear  in  the 
presence  of  God  as  a  priest,  ...  and  as  the  high  priest 
to  enter  within  the  vail  and  make  intercession  for  the 

P!7    1  .      ^'^  ^^  "^^^  ^^  *^^^  possession  of  the  throne 
of  his  kingdom,  that  he  might  hear  the  angels  around 
the  throne,  shouting  with  a  loud  voice :  '  Worthy  is 
the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  receive  power,  and  riches, 
and  wisdom    and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
blessing ;     that,  looking  down  from  his  lofty  seal,  he 
might  laugh  at  the  impotent  rage  of  his  enemies,  and 
from  that  impregnable  fortress  afford  the  most  effectual 
succor,   and  liberally  bestow  the  richest  gifts  on  his 
saints.  ....  Nor  can  any  one  of  them  fail  to  regard 
with  most  lively  interest  an  inauguration  of  their  kins 
so  splendid   and  a  triumph  of  their  champion  so  mag- 
nificent     What  can  be  more  delightful  for  them  tha'n 
to  see  their  Lord,  who,  so  lately  overwhelmed  with  so 
many  waves  of  unparalleled  trouble  and  sorrow,  even 
to  the  very  abysses  of  hell,  now  shining  in  the  fresh 
splendor   of  a  spiritual   body,  exalted   far   above   the 
stormy  clouds  and  dreadful  thunders ;  nav,  above  the 
sun  himself,  and  the  loftiest  of  the  stars,  made  higher 
than  all  heavens,  and  taking  possession  of  the  throne 
as  his  father's  equal,  amidst  the  congratulations  of  an- 
gels, and  of  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect !  .  .  . 
'  God  is  gone  up  with  a  shout ;  Jehovah  with  a  sound 
of  a  trumpet.     Sing  praises  to  God,  sing  praises.     Sing 
praises  to  our  king,  sing  praises.      For  God  is  the  king 
of  all  the  earth  ;  sing  ye  praises  with  understanding.' '' 
3.  "  He  sends  us  his  Spirit  as  an  earnest,  by  whose 
power  we  seek  those  things  which  are  above,  where 


I 


VOL.   I. 


466 


ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  [Lfccr.  XXI. 


Christ  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  (the  Father)  God, 
and  not  things  on  earth." 

We  have  already  anticipated  much  of  this  head,  and 
seen  how  the  sending  of  the  Spirit  was,  and  continues 
to  be,  the  proof  and  assurance  of  Christ's  having  en- 
tered heaven  as  the  head  and  forerunner  of  his  peo- 
ple ;  for  he  had  said  :  "  If  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter 
will  not  come  unto  you  ;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send 
Mni  liiito  yon."  Yes,  dear  brethren,  none  of  us  may 
know  that  we  have  the  benefits  of  Christ's  ascension, 
unless  we  have  received  his  Spirit  into  our  hearts,  and 
are  conscious  of  its  sanctifying  and  elevating  influences. 
As  the  apostle  says  :  "  After  that  ye  believed,  ye  were 
sealed  witll  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the 
earnest  |if  puf  inheritance  until  the  redemption  of  the 
purchased  possession,  unto  the  praise  of  his  glory."  By 
faith  we  die  with  Christ  in  his  crucifixion,  we  are 
quickened  to  a  new  life  with  Christ  in  his  resurrection, 
and  so  we  rise  lieavenward  with  Christ  in  his  ascension. 
So  again :  "  He  hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made 
us  sit  together  in  Christ  Jesus."  Again  :  "  If  ye  then 
be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things  that  are  above, 
where  Christ  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God.  Set 
your  affections  on  things  above,  not  on  things  on  the 
earth.  For  ye  are  dead,  and  your  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God."  It  is  therefore  essential  to  a  spiritual 
following  of  Christ,  a  necessary  sign  of  our  fellowship 
with  him,  that  we  cherish  not  only  an  expectation,  but 
an  earnest,  longing,  increasing  desire  for  heaven.  The 
things  of  earth  are  a  snare  and  a  hurt,  except  as  we 
use  them  to  help  us  on  our  way  heavenward  ;  the  du- 
ties of  this  life  are  not  faithfully  performed,  except  as 
aim  in  them  to  fit  ourselves   through    grace   for 


Lect.  XXI.]  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  467 

heaven  ;  nay,  the  religious  blessings  we  are  permitted 
to  enjoy  here,  fail  of  their  end  if  they  do  not  ur^e  us 
onward  to  a  full  fruition  in  heaven.     Our  Christian  life 
IS  a  course  through  this  world,  which  we  are  to  run 
poking  unto  Jesus  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of 
^od.     The  mark  of  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  is  in 
heaven       Nay,  it  is  the  hope  of  heaven  which  keeps 
our  souls  surely  and  steadfastly.     No  matter  what  other 
proofs  of  his  being  a  Christian  a  man  may  think  that 
ne  has,  —  what  moral  virtues,  what  present  zeal,  what 
reverence  for  God  and  sacred  things,  what  kindness 
and  faithfulness  to  his  fellow-men,  ^  if  he  have  not  this 
Jongmg  thirst  for  heaven,  he  should  doubt  his  Chris- 
tianity.     The   regenerate   soul   can   be  satisfied  with 
nothing  short  of  awaking  with  the  divine  likeness.    'We 
cannot  pray  aright  without  hoping  for  heaven,  for  there 
only  will  the  askings  of  a  pious  heart  be  fully  granted. 
We   cannot   give   thanks   aright   without   hoping   for 
heaven,  for  there  are  the  consummate  blessings  of  the 
Redeemer  s  purchase.     We  cannot  serve  God  aright 
without  hoping  for  heaven,  for  there  only  is  our  faith- 
fulness to  be  acknowledged,  and  our  wages  paid.     Our 
hope  should  be  submissive,  and  our  longing  patient;  we 
should  be  willing  to  remain  so  long  as  God  has  work 
for  us  here,  but  ever  with  a  yearning  sense  that  to  de- 
part  and  be  with  Christ  is  far  better.     Grace  in  the 
heart  is   an  ascensive   power,  ever  lifting  its  desires 
npward  and  upward,  and  so  above  the  temptations  of 
time  and  earth.     We  can  never  drive  this  worid  out 
f  ^^^  ^^^^^*«'  b»t  by  bringing  heaven  into  them.    And 
heaven  meets  our  affections  when  they  ascend,  as  it 
met  Jesus ;  and  he  who  so  walks,  climbing  the  arduous 
way  from  the  valley  of  Baca  to  the  temple  on  the 


468 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  [Lucr.  XXI. 


mount  (for  we  must  walk  until  we  get  our  wings  of 
angelic  strength),  will  so  approach  the  heavenly 
threshold,  as,  like  holy  Enoch,   he  can  cross  it  at  a 

step. 

Oh,  dear  friends,  what  an  advantage  have  they  whose 
Jesus  is  in  heaven,  over  those  first  disciples  when  they 
had  him  with  them  personally  on  earth.  They  were 
for  building  tabernacles  on  Tabor,  looking  for  a  tem- 
poral kingdom,  walking  by  sight  and  not  by  faith  ;  but 
our  Lord  now  above  draws  up  to  a  better,  higher,  holier 
home  our  aims,  our  desires,  and  our  love.  Have  they 
who  thus  believe  and  hope,  says  an  excellent  father  of 
our  own  church,  "  a  double  ensurance  of  heaven,  since 
they  have  their  nature  there  as  a  pledge,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  their  souls  as  an  earnest  ?  " 


LECTURE  XXn. 


CffEIST  ON  THE  THEONE  AS  EULEE  AND  JUDGE. 


*  iiit:   r 


I 


NINETEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

CHRIST  ON   THE   THRONE  AS  RULER 

AND   JUDGE. 

Quest   L.     Why  is  it  added  "  and  sifteth  at  tJie  right  hand  of  God?  " 
Ans     Because  Christ  is  ascended  into  heaven  for  this,  a„d  that  he  might 
Ih.'nffs*^^'^'  "'  ^'^^  *^^  ^^  "^"'*^^  ^y  ^'^«»^  the  Father  governs  all 
Quest  LI.     What  profit  is  this  glory  of  Christ,  our  head,  unto  us  f 
ANS.     Birst,  that  by  his  Holy  Spirit  he  poureth  out  heavenly  graces  upon 
us  as  his  members;  and  then  that  by  his  power  he  defends  and  pre- 
serves  us  against  all  enemies.  ^ 

Quest    LII      What  comfort  is  it  to  thee  that  Chi-ist  -shall  come  again  to 

judge  the  quick  and  the  deadf'  ^ 

Ans.  That  in  all  my  sorrows  and  persecutions,  with  uplifted  head,  I  look 
for  the  very  same  person  who  before  offered  himself  for  mv  sake  to  the 
tribunal  of  God,  and  hath  removed  all  curse  from  me,  to  come  as  judge 
from  hea^^n;  who  shall  cast  all  his  and  my  enemies  into  everlisdng 
condenmation,  but  shall  translate  me  with  all  his  chosen  ones  to  him- 
self, into  heavenly  joys  and  glory. 

'THE  assumption  of  Christ  Jesus  into  heaven  testified 
the  divine  approval  of  his  work  on  earth,  as  his 
uprising  from  the  dead  demonstrated  the  sufficiency  of 
his  expiation.     The  only  begotten  Son  of  God  had  been 
sent  from  heaven  into  the  world  to  provide  a  righteous- 
ness for  our  justification  through  faith ;  and  when  that 
end  was  fulfilled,  he  returned  whence  he  came.     But 
not  as  he  came  forth  did  he  return  to  heaven.     In  order 
to  accomplish  his  vicarious  righteousness,  he  had  as- 
sumed a  human  nature  like  our  own,  and  made  it  one 
person  with   his  adorable  divinity.      In    that   human 
nature  he  had  humbled  himself  as  a  servant  obedient 
until  death,  "despised  and  rejected  of  men,"  "stricken, 


472 


CHRIST  ON  THE  THRONE 


[Lect.  XXII 


Lkct.  XXII.]  AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE. 


473 


smitten  of  God  and  afflicted,"  oppressed  to  the  lowest 
ignominy  of  torture  by  the  malice  of  the  world,  to  the 
deepest  reproach  and  pains  of  hell  both  in  body  and 
soul  on  the  tree  of  the  cross  by  the  justice  of  his  Father; 
and  all  this  that  he  might  bear  away  our  shame,  mag- 
nify and  honor  the  law  which  we  had  brokep,  expiate 
the  guilt  we  had  incurred,  and  lift  up  from  the  ruin  sin 
had  brought  upon  them,  those  whom  he  accepted  as 
brethren  when  he  became  "  the  seed  of  the  woman." 
Therefore,  when  his  vicarious  merit  was  complete,  and 
the  crucified  had  by  a  divine  life  "  conquered  death  and 
him  that  had  the  power  of  death,"  "  having  obtained 
eternal  redemption  for  us,"  he  did  not  forsake  the  nature 
he  had  loved  so  well,  but  bore  aloft  through  the  rent 
skies  the  body  and  sour  he  had  made  his  own  by  a 
union  personal  and  indissoluble.     He  entered  heaven 
IIS  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  but  also  as  the  Son 
of  man  ;    coequal   with    the   Father,   yet   our    elder 
brother,  the  Emmanuel  claiming  his  divine  right,  the 
mediator  claiming  his  covenanted  reward,  the  forerun- 
ner claiming  the  inheritance  which  as  a  Son  was  his 
own,  and  in  which  he  had  associated  his  people  through 
the  adoption  they  receive  by  his  representation. 

But  the  Scriptures  declare  that  his  being  received 
into  heaven  was  not  enough  ;  and  when  our  faith  looks 
up  through  the  parted  vail,  we  see  that  he 

«  Sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God."  The  Catechism, 
also,  in  the  lesson  for  to-day  very  properly  unites  to  this 
article  of  our  creed  that  which  asserts 

"  From  thence  he  will  come  to  judge  the  quick  and 

the  dead." 

BoA  will,  with  divine  permission,  make  the  subject 

of  our  present  study. 


The  Answer  to  the  50th  Question  gives  the  reason 
why  it  is  added  that  Christ  "  sitteth  at  the  right  hand 

The  51st  states  the  "  profit  which  this  glory  of 
Christ,  our  head,  is  unto  us." 

The  52d  declares  the  comfort  we  derive  from  the  fact 
that  Christ  "shall  come  again  to  judge  the  quick  and 
the  dead." 

We  shall  be  able  to  cover  all  this  ground,  and  with 
greater  convenience,  by  considering  the  several  topics 
under  three  heads: 

First  :  The  meaning  of  the  phrase,  "  ffe  .  sitteth 
at  the  right  hand  of  Qodr 

SecoxNdly  :  The  reason  for  this  preeminent  qhrv  o^ 
Christ.  if     ij  J 

Thirdly  :  The  comfoH  which  the  believer  derives  from 
this  doctrine  of  our  Lord's  exaltation. 

First  :  Tlie  meaning  of  the  phrase,  "  JET^  .  .  »iueth 
at  the  right  hand  of  God.'' 
^  1.  The  assignment  of  a  place  on  the  right  hand  of  a 
king  denotes  his  confidence  and  satisfaction  in  the  per- 
son so  honored.     Christ  "  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of 
God."     The  Scripture  represents  that  it  is  God  in  his 
supreme  dignity  who  thus  honors  Christ.     The  Son, 
"  when  he  had  purged  our  sins,  sat  down  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high,"  says  the  writer  to  the 
Hebrews ;  and  again  :  "  Looking  unto  Jesus  .  .  who 
...  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of 
God ; "  which  fulfils  the  prophecy :  "  The  Lord  said 
unto  my  Lord,  sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make 
thine  enemies  thy  footstool."     This  implies  a  conferring 
of  authority  with  the  honor,  as  when  a  king  elevates 
one  as  chief   minister  in  the  administration   of   his 


II J'll'llillULj    niffii 


CHRIST  ON  THE  THRONE 


[Lkct.  XXU. 


empire*  But  other  scriptures  show  that  more  is  in- 
tended than  a  place  beside  the  throne  on  its  right  hand. 
The  Son  sitteth  on  the  throne  itself  with  the  Father: 
"  Unto  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with 
me  on  my  throne,  even  as  I  also  overcame  and  am  set 
down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne."  So,  also,  we 
behold  "  the  Lamb  in  the  midst "  "  of  the  great  white  " 
"throne;"  and  the  river  of  life  issuing  from  "the 
throne  of  the  Lord  God  almighty  and  the  Lamb." 
This  cleariy  signifies  the  association  of  Christ  with  the 
Father  in  the  full  exercise  of  all  power  over  all  things, 
as  the  Master  says :  "  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  in  earth." 

2.  The  vastness  of  the  power  thus  exercised  by  the 
Son  proves  him  to  be  truly  and  infinitely  God,  and 
therefore  coequal  to  the  Father ;  for  what  less  than 
omnipresence,  omniscience,  and  omnipotence  were  equal 
to  the  administration  of  universal  empire?  So  we  read : 
"  Unto  the  Son,  he  saith.  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for 
ever  and  ever." 

3.  Yet,  while  such  dominion  belongs  unto  the  Son  by 
right  of  his  original  divinity,  the  phrase  "  on  the  right 
band"  indicates  that  this  eminent  authority  has  been 
delegated.  It  is  the  Emmanuel,  the  Son  of  God  incar- 
nate, that  sits  on  the  throne,  and  we  know  that  the 
human  nature  neither  has  by  right,  nor  can  of  itself 
exercise  such  dominion.  Hence  we  are  told  that,  be- 
cause Christ  Jesus  "being  in  the  form  of  God  took  upon 
him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  like- 
ness of  men;  and,  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man, 
humbled  himself,  and  became  obedient  until  death,  even 
the  death  of  the  cross,  .  .  God  also  hath  highly  ex- 
alted him  (the  God-man)  and  given  him  a  name  that 


p 


Lbct.  XXII.] 


AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE. 


475 


is  above  every  name,  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every 
knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in 
earth,  and  things  under  the  earth ;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father." 

The  phrase  "  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the 
Father  almighty,"  signifies  the  elevation  by  God  the 
Father,  representing  the  Godhead,  of  Jesus  Christ  the 
Mediator,  representing  the  church,  to  the  glory  and 
power  of  a  universal  kingdom,  as  we  read  :  "  That  ye 
may  know  .  .  .  what  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  his 
power  to  usward  who  believe,  according  to  the  work- 
ing of  his  mighty  power,  which  he  wrought  in  Christ 
when  he  raised  him  from  the  dead  and  set  him  at  his 
own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places,  far  above  all 
principality,  and  power,  and  might,  and  dominion,  and 
every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in  this  world,  but 
also  in  that  which  is  to  come :  and  hath  put  all  things 
under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be  head  over  all  things 
to  the  church,  which  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him 
that  filleth  all  in  all." 

Secondly  :  The  reason  for  this  preeminent  glory  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

1.  That  the  Father  might  manifest  to  all  intelligent 
creatures  his  infinite  appreciation  of  our  Lord's  media- 
torial work. 

The  redemption  of  sinners  was,  as  the  Scriptures 
assure  us,  purposed  and  planned  in  a  council  of  the 
ever-blessed  Trinity,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
each  adorable  person  taking  his  peculiar  part :  The 
Father  representing  and  vindicating  the  honor  of  the 
Godhead  which  had  been  treasonably  provoked  by  our 
sins ;  the  Son  undertaking  to  magnify  the  broken  law 


IBg:'J  .,'>*- -- 


CHKIST  ON  THE  THRONE 


[Lkct.  XXII. 


tmi  satisfy  tlie  justice  of  the  law,  whose  sanctions  were 
eternal  life  as  the  reward  of  righteousness  alone,  and 
eternal  death  as  the  sure  penalty  of  disobedience  ;  the 
Holy  Ghost  promising  his  efficient  energies  to  make 
successful  all  the  means  employed  in  the  economy  of 

grace. 

This  redemption  is  the  highest  work  of  God,  infinitely 
transcending  all  his  other  works  of  creation  and  provi- 
dence, which  for  the  same  reason  are  made  subservient 
•nd  contributive  to  it.     There  God  has  his  highest  de- 
light, and  from  its  issues  he  looks  for  his  chiefest  praise. 
Hence  it  is  styled  emphatically  "  the  good  pleasure  of 
his  will ; "  and  it  is  "  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
grace."     But  while  we  adore  with  equal  thanks  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  for  their  most 
merciful  offices  in  our  redemption,  it  is  obvious  that  the 
office  of  the  Father  and  the  office  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
necessarily  demand  a  perfect  discharge  of  the   office 
committed  to  the  Son.     His  vicarious  righteousness  is 
iie  basis  of  the  Father's  choice  and  the  Spirit's  effi- 
ciency ;  for  the  Father  sends  the  Son  to  work  out  the 
atonement,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  applies  the  atonement 
to  the  salvation  of  the  church.     The  Father  "  predes- 
tinates us  to  the  adoption  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ," 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  makes  us  "accepted  in  the  be- 
loved."   Now,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Son  having  become 
incarnate  had  fulfilled  all  righteousness,  made  an  infi- 
nitely sufficient  basis  for  our  atonement  (or  reconcilia- 
tion) with  God,  and  so  justified  the  mercy  of  God  in 
the  salvation  of  the  sinner  who.  believes  on  Jesus,  when 
he  finished  his  sacrifice  on  the  cross.     Therefore  was 
Jesus  Christ  his  only  begotten  Son,  in  whom  he  was 
well  pleased,  —  not  simply  as  his  only  begotten  Son,  — 


^  Lbct.  XXII.]  AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE. 


477 


there  needed  no  work  of  righteousness  to  recommend 
his  coequal  Son,  —  but  his  only  begotten  Son,  the  in- 
carnate mediator  who  had  perfected  the  work  of  propi- 
tiation. The  only  begotten  had  taken  on  him  the  form 
of  a  servant,  in  our  nature  representing  us ;  and  in  him, 
as  a  servant  representing  us,  is  he  well  pleased.  The 
Father  rejoices  over  him  as  the  magnifier  of  the 
divine  law,  the  satisfier  of  the  divine  justice,  the  justi- 
fier  of  the  divine  mercy ;  and  receives  him  back  to 
heaven  as  the  head  of  a  once  prodigal  race  that  was 
dead  but  is  alive  again,  that  was  lost  and  is  found. 
With  what  glory  shall  he  invest  this  well-beloved  Son 
less  than  the  robe  of  his  best  majesty !  Wliat  place 
shall  he  assign  him  in  whom  he  is  so  well  pleased,  less 
than  a  seat  on  his  own  throne  !  What  reward  shall  he 
bestow  on  the  Propitiator  for  such  perfect  righteous- 
ness, less  than  the  administration  of  all  power  in  heaven 
and  in  earth ! 

The  incarnate  Son,  in  the  execution  of  this  work,  had 
stooped  to  extreme  shame.  He  had  been  degraded  by 
poverty,  persecution,  and  contempt,  even  to  the  once 
infamous  cross ;  his  enemies  had  exulted  over  him  as 
he  lay  in  the  guarded  tomb  to  all  semblance  under  the 
grasp  of  "  him  that  had  the  power  of  death ; "  men 
and  angels  had  seen  that  it  even  pleased  the  Father  to 
bruise  him  and  put  him  to  grief;  nay,  had  heard  his 
cry  of  anguish  and  desolation  come  from  the  thick 
darkness,  "  My  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ! " 
And  now  must  the  Father  show  by  a  glory  infinitely 
greater  than  the  ignominy,  how  much  he  delights  in  his 
faithful  servant ;  so  he  raises  him  from  the  lowest  parts 
of  the  earth,  where  he  was  stript  of  all  things,  to  the 
highest   seat  in  heaven,  that  he   may  fill   all  things. 


biHiiiSiAilLA«iy|di^ 


CHRIST  OH  THl  THKONE  [Lect.  XXIL 

Therefore  the  glory  of  Christ  is  to  be  measured  only  by 
the  infinite  riches  of  the  glory  of  his  grace  ;  and  such 
the  manifestation  of  the  Father  to  the  man  whom  he 
delighteth  to  honor,  that  not  only  the  church  shall 
ascribe  unto  him  glory  and  dominion  forever  and  ever, 
"  but  every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  earth 
and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the  sea,  and  all 
that  are  in  them,"  shall  say,  "  Blessing  and  honor  and 
glory  and  power  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and  ever." 

2.  "That  he  might,"  says  the  Catechism,  "there 
appear  as  the  head  of  his  church,  by  whom  the  Father 

governs  all  things." 

Let  nsy  for   greater   convenience,  divide   this   sen- 

a.  "  That  he  might  there  appear  as  the  head  of  his 

church." 

The  first  Adam  was  driven,  because  of  his  sin,  by 
awnging  angels,  from  the  presence  of  God  in  the  first 
paradiset  and  all  his  descendants  fallen  with  him  are  by 
nature  and  personal  guilt  in  the  same  state  of  condem- 
nation and  consequent  exclusion  from  the  divine  favor. 
Christ,  as  the  second  Adam,  had  undertaken  to  restore, 
l>y  his  representative  righteousness,  all  sinners  who  be- 
lieve on  his  name  to  the  privilege  and  blessedness  they 
had  lost.     As  Adam  was  the  head  of  his  race,  so  does 
Christ  act  as  the  head  of  his  church,  which  Isaiah  calls 
*'  his  seed,"   "  the  travail  of  his  soul."     But  as  the 
vicarious  merit  of  the  mediator  is  infinitely  greater  than 
the  most  perfect  obedience  of  man  could  have  been, 
the  privilege  and  blessedness  purchased  by  him  must 
incomparably  transcend  what  had  been  lost.     Hence, 
the  state  of  the  church  in  the  divine  favor  cannot  now 


Lect.  XXIL] 


AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE. 


479 


be  adequately  shown  on  earth  ;  and  the  second  paradise 
is  opened  amidst  the  glories  of  the  divine  presence  in 
heaven.     Christ,  therefore,  having  risen  from  the  dead 
after  the  consummation  of  his  atonement,  remains  on 
earth  no  longer  than  was  required  to  confirm  the  fact 
of  his  resurrection,  but  ascends  with  his*  human  body 
and  soul  to  take  possession  of  heaven  as  his  by  media- 
torial right.     He  enters  heaven  not  for  himself  alone, 
but  for  us  as  the  forerunner  of  his  church.     When  his 
pierced  feet  crossed  the  threshold  of  that  holy  place,  he 
demonstrated  that  all  who  believe  on  his  name  shall 
follow  in  his  majestic  steps,  and  that  the  whole  nature, 
body  and  soul  of  every  Christian,  shall  partake  of  the 
same  glory  with  which  his  humanity  is  now  invested. 
There  in  the  second  paradise,  wher.e  the  tree  of  life 
offers    its    perpetual   fruits,    beside    the    river   of  the 
waters  of  life,   which  flows  from   out  the  throne  of 
the  Lord  God  almighty  and  the  Lamb,  shall  Jesus, 
our   surety,  forever   enjoy  the   reward  for  which   he 
endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  as  he  beholds 
all  his  ransomed  people  safe,  *  sinless,  and  happy  like 
himself. 

Nor  was  it  enough  for  this  that  he  should  merely 
enter  heaven.  The  angels  enjoy  heaven  as  the  con- 
comitant reward  of  their  unswerving  fidelity;  —  the 
divinely  incarnate  Son  who  had  not  only  accomplished 
an  infinite  merit  for  his  people,  but  also,  in  so  doing, 
fulfilled  the  highest  good  pleasure  of  the  Father,  must 
have  a  recompense  far  above  the  angel's  honor.  The 
only  begotten  Son  must  have  his  divine  place  on  his 
Father's  throne,  and  he  takes  his  seat  with  his  insepara- 
ble humanity  about  him,  the  Immanuel  in  whom  the 
Father  is  well  pleased.     The  ransomed  sinners,  in  all 


i 


480 


CHRIST  ON  THE  THRONE 


[Lect'.  XXH 


their  multitudinous  numbers,  wiH  enjoy  heaven  as  the 
reward  of  his  imputed  righteousness,  but  he  is  the  head 
of  the  body  of  which  they  all  are  members,  and  it  is  his 
right  by  which  they  are  there ;  therefore  must  it  ap- 
pear that  his  dignity  is  infinitely  preeminent ;  nay,  that 
he  is  Lord  of  heaven,  to  open  its  gates  and  its  treasures 
as  his  own  for  all  his  people.  He  reigns  for  us,  because 
he  reigns  in  our  flesh.  There  to  Christ  on  his  throne 
do  our  affections  follow  him,  for  there  "  all  the  articles 
of  our  faith  lead  us." 

h,  "  That  he  might  there  appear  as  the  head  of  his 
church,  h^  whom  the  Father  governs  all  things,^* 

Though  the  merit  on  which  the  salvation  of  the 
cfcurch  was  finished  by  Jesus  Christ  when  he  died  upon 
the  cross,  his  work  as  our  Redeemer  will  not  be  accom- 
plished until  his  whole  church  —  every  one  of  his  ran- 
somed people  —  is  brought  home  to  the  glorious  house 
of  his  Father.     For  wise  reasons,  (elsewhere  treated 
of,)  this  process  is  gradual ;  gradual  in  each  believer, 
and  gradual  in  the  church.    There  is  a  severe  discipline 
through  which  the  grace  of  God  is  manifested  by  the 
experience  of  Christians  and  the  church  on  earth,  and 
by  which  they  are  to  be  prepared  for  the  holy  consum- 
mation of  heaven.     They  are  to  labor  in  services  like 
his,  for  which  their  strength  is  utterly  insufficient ;  they 
are  to  meet  difficulties  and  oppositions  and  delusions 
far  greater  than  their  own  power  and  skill  to  overcome. 
All  the  malice  of  the  world  and  hell  is  against  them. 
Yet  must  they  overcome.     Humanity  must  achieve  its 
own  triumphs.     All  things  were  put  under  man  at  the 
beginning,  and  all  things  must  be  again  put  under  him 
in  the  end.     The  restoration  else  were  not  complete. 
Now  we  see  not  all  things  put  under  the  church.     Her 


Lect.  XXII.] 


AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE. 


481 


battle  is  fierce  and  obstinate.     "  But  we  see  Jesus,  our 
second  Adam,  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father," 
crowned  with  glory  and  honor.     God  has  put  all  things 
mto  his  hands,  the  hands  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus.    All 
power  is  given  unto  him  in  heaven  and  earth,  not  as 
the  Son  of  God,  — that  power  has  been  eternally  his  by 
right  of  his  original  divinity,  — but  to  the  Son'of  God 
incarnate,  Jesus  Christ  as  the  head  of  his  church,  and 
for  the  benefit  of  his  church.     Nothing  less  than  his 
infinite  divinity  were  sufficient  to  exert  this  universal 
power,  but  he  exerts  it  through  his  humanity  as  the 
grand  type  of  regenerated,  glorified  man.     He  reigns 
as  the  second  Adam  by  the  power  of  his  godhead. 
All  providence,  therefore,  is  his  ;  all  things,  aTl  beings 
created,  all  events,  all  the  laws  of  nature,  all  the  affairs 
of  nations,  all  the  arts  and  sciences,  inventions  and  en- 
terprises of  men  are  so  ruled,  directed,  and  overruled 
by  him  as  to  assist  his  people  individually,  and  as  a 
church  in  their  struggles  onward  and  open  the  way  for 
their   final  triumph.      "  The  angels  "   who  constitute 
the  hosts  of  which   he  is  Lord,  are   "all   ministering 
spirits  sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heii^ 
of  salvation ;  "  even  the  devils,  also,  are  subject  unto 
him,  their  malice  being  restrained  and   their  ultimate 
defeat  made  certain,  for  "  he  must  reign  till  he  hath  put 
all  enemies  under  his  feet."     So  that  the  apostle  made 
no  vain  boast  when  he  said,  "  We  know  that  all  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,"  ami 
that  all  things  are  theirs,  because  they  are  "  Christ's, 
and   Christ   is  God's."      The   fulness   of   the   church 
which  is  his  body,  is  the  fulness  of  Christ's  glory,  so 
hath  the  Father  put  all  things  under  his  feet  and  given 
kim  to  be  head  over  all  things  to  his  church  that  he 

VOL.  I.  31 


/ 


482 


CHRIST  ON  T»*  TIJRONE 


[Lkct.  XXII. 


may  see  of  the  travail  <if  his  soul  and  be  fully  sat- 
isfied, 

3.  That  he  "  may  by  his  Holy  Spirit  pour  out  heav- 
enly graces  on  us  his  members/* 

In  the  plan  of  redemption  the  Holy  Ghost  assumes 
the  office  of  rendering  effectual  the  work  of  Christ,  and 
hence  is  said  to  proceed  from  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
as  the  Son  from  the  Father.      When,  therefore,  the 
mediator  had  finished  his  meritorious  work,  he  took  his 
seat  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  and  asked  and 
received  the  promised  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost  for 
the  carrying  out  of  his  redemption  to  its  entire  com- 
pletion.    Hence  the  Holy  Ghost  is  said  to  be  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  and  he  is  said  to  send  the  Spirit  from  the 
Father  (John  xv.  26).    So  at  the  Pentecost  the  descent 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  proved  the  session  of  Christ  on  his 
throne:  "Therefore,"  said  the  apostle  Peter,  "being 
ly  tll6  right   hand  of  God   exalted,  and   having  re- 
ceived of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
(t.  C  tile  promised  Holy  Ghost),  he  hath  shed  forth 
this  which  ye  now  see  and  hear."     All  the  gifts  of 
God   through  Christ   to   men,    all    the   graces    which 
characterize  believers,  —  knowledge,  strength,  holiness, 
faith,  hope,  love,  —  with  all  their  attendant  train   of 
blessed  dispositions,  are  the  effects  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
dwelling    and    working    in    them.      To    obtain    this 
spirit  in  his  various  energies  is  the  object  of  Christ's 
priestly    intercessions.      Whatever    we    need   for    our 
Christian  comfort,  guidance,  and  courage,  can   come 
to  us  only  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  as  all  that  was  neces- 
sary to  consecrate  and  sustain  the  humanity  of  Christ 
himself,  came  from   the   Holy   Ghost    sent   down  by 
tlie  Father  upon  him.     The  Spirit  was  the  holy  oil 


I! 


Lect.  XXIL] 


AS  RULEt  AND  JUDGE. 


483 


of  his  unction  when  he  was  crowned  as  the  royal  high 
priest  and  prophet  of  the  church,  and  its  precious  per- 
fumes flow  down  to  the  humblest  member  of  his  mvs- 
tical  body.  Christ,  therefore,  sitteth  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father  on  his  throne,  that  as  he  administers  all 
providence  for  the  external  benefit  of  his  church,  he 
may  also  send  each  member  of  it  all  grace  for  the 
internal  Christian  life  ;  or,  as  the  51st  Question  and 
Answer  has  it,  the  profit  which  this  glory  of  Chnst, 
our  head,  is  unto  us,  may  be  stated  in  two  parts. 
"  First :  That  by  his  Holy  Spirit  he  poureth  out  heav- 
enly graces  upon  us  his  members ;  and  then  that  by 
his  power  he  defends  and  preserves  us  against  all 
enemies." 

4.  There  is  yet  another  form  of  Christ's  glory  con- 
nected with  his  elevation  as  Lord  of  all,  which,  though 
stated  in  a  separate  article  of  the  creed,  the  Catechism 
most  properly  unites  with  the  consideration  of  his  sit- 
ting at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father:  his  coming  "to 
judge  the  quick  and  the  dead." 

Throughout  the  Scriptures,  the  final  and  general 
judgment  of  the  world  is  ascribed  to  Christ,  "  be- 
cause," says  the  apostle  on  the  Areopagus,  God  "  hath 
appointed  a  day  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world 
in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained, 
whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men  in  that 
he  raised  him  from  the  dead."  Here  not  only  is  the 
judge  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  incarnate,  by  the 
emphatic  term  man,  but  his  judgeship  is  intimately 
connected  with  his  office  as  mediator  by  the  assurance 
of  his  appointment  being  given  in  his  resurrection  from 
the  dead.  We  see,  also,  according  to  the  creed,  that 
he  proceeds  from   his   throne  to  execute   the  office : 


484 


CHRIST  ON  THE  THRONI  [Lect.  XXH. 


"  From  thence  he  shall  come  to  jndge  the  quick  and 
tlie  dead  ; "  not  that  he  leaves  his  sovereign  au- 
thority heliind  him,  but  that  he  derives  his  authority 
to  judge  from  his  royal  dignity.  In  a  word,  it  is  a 
prerogative  of  his  mediatorial  headship  over  all.  The 
I-eason  of  this  is  twofold :  first,  from  the  relation  of 
the  mediator  to  God  ;    secondly,  from  his  relation  to 

the  church. 

a.  In  committing  to  Jesus  Christ  the  administration 
of  mercy,  the  Father  necessarily  committed  to  him  the 
administration  of  justice.     It  became  him  to  reconcile 
mercy  to  the  believer  with  justice  to  the  impenitent ; 
and,  while  he  effected  through  his  righteousness  the 
redemption   of  his   people,   though   sinners,   to   carry 
Wl  the  condemnation  of  all  who  rejected  his  surety- 
ship.     He   could   not,    therefore,  fulfil   the   trust   of 
all  authority  from  the  Father  until  he  had  not  only 
opened    heaven  fur  the   penitent,  but  also  sent  away 
the  obstinately  impenitent  to  their  merited  doom.     The 
gospel  did  not  annul  the  law,  but  placed  the  law  with 
the  gospel  in  the  hands  of  the  mediator.    Hence,  as  the 
finaf  judgment  is  intended  for  the  manifestation  of  the 
divine  holiness  in  the  consummation  of  the  present  sys- 
tem, so  it  should  be  presided  over  by  the  mediatorial 

It  is  also  for  the  benefit  of  the  church,  that  its  me- 
diatorial head  should  be  the  judge  to  dissipate  their 
fear,  fulfil  his  gracious  promises  to  them,  and  forever 
deliver  them  from  all  danger  and  dread  of  their  ene- 
mies, by  a  complete  and  everlasting  overthrow  of  all 

wickedness. 

Thus  the  disciple,  in  the  answer  to  the  o2d  Question, 
declares  his  unspeakable  comfort  from  the  judgeship  of 


Lect.  XXH.] 


AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE. 


485 


Christ:  "That  in  all  my  sorrows  and  persecutions, 
with  uplifted  head,  I  look  for  the  very  same  person,  who 
before  offered  himself  for  my  sake  to  the  tribunal  of 
God,  and  hath  removed  all  curse  from  me  to  come  as 
iudore  from  heaven  :  who  shall  cast  all  his  and  my  ene- 
mies  into  everlasting  condemnation,  but  shall  translate 
me  with  all  his  chosen  ones  to  himself  into  heavenly 
joys  and  glory."  Even  in  this  majestic  splendor  of 
the  mediator,  the  believer  is  associated  with  the  glory 
of  his  elder  brother.  It  is  in  his  kindred  flesh  that  the 
Son  of  God  shall  sit  on  the  judgment-seat ;  it  is  his 
head  that  shall  display  consummate  power  over  the 
destinies  of  all  men. 

There  are  many  very  interesting  questions  and  edify- 
ino"  truths  beyond  what  we  have  touched  upon  con- 
nected  with  this  subject;  but  as  the  Catechism  does 
not  bring  them  under  the  present  lesson,  and  much 
larger  space  were  necessary  for  their  discussion  than 
we  have  now  at  our  disposal,  we  must  leave  them  for 
other  occasions,  and  proceed  to  consider 

Thirdly  :  The  comfort  wldch  the  believer  derives 
from  this  doctrine  of  our  Lord's  exaltation. 

This  has  been  made  to  appear  as  we  went  through 
the  previous  discussion,  but  the  several  points  may  be 
profitably  recapitulated. 

1.  Our  right  through  grace  to  heaven  is  secured. 
"  Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here,"  said  Peter  on 
the  mount  of  transfiguration,  when  he  beheld  the  glory 
of  Jesus,  and  in  his  bewildered  ignorance  he  would 
have  continued  on  the  top  of  Tabor ;  but  just  before 
his  passion,  when  the  master  had  gathered  the  twelve 
around  him  for  the  last  time,  he  declared,  "  It  is  expe- 
dient for  you  that  I  go  away."     From  the  scene  of  his 


4m 


CHRIST  ON  THE  THRONE 


[Lect.  XXIL 


transfiguration  he  descended  to  pass  tliroiigh  sorrow, 
shame,  and  death  to  his  Father's  presence ;  and  after 
he  had  ascended  out  of  sight  of  his  exulting  disciples 
at  Bethany,  they  had  to  pass  through  trials  like  his  to 
reach  their  crown.     But  it  was  "  the  joy  set  before 
him,"  which  animated  him  to  "  endure  the  cross,  de- 
spising the  shame ;"  it  was  the  reward  he  had  promised 
them  which   nerved  their  spirits  to  be  faithful  until 
death.     He  was  no  longer  with  them  on  earth  ;  but 
they  knew  that  he  was  in  glory  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father.     They  no  longer  heard  his  gentle  voice  or 
saw  his  affectionate  smile,  but  they  knew  that  he  had 
not  forgotten  them,  for  he  had  carried  up  with  him  his 
human   body,  and  was  still  their  elder   brother  and 
hic^h  priest,  who  could  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of 
their  infirmities,  having  been  tempted  like  as  they  were, 
though  without  sin  ;  they  had  seen  him  condemned, 
crucified,  dead,  and  buried ;  and  now  they  were  ex- 
posed, a  scattered  feeble  flock,  to  the  malice  of  the 
same  enemies  and  a  cruel  death ;  but  they  knew  that  he 
whom  they  trusted  was  Lord  of  heaven,  triumphant 
Hirer  all,  and  had  taken  his  royal  seat  as  their  forerun- 
ner.    There  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  body  and  soul,  was 
in  glory,  —  a  glory  of  which  he  had  promised  them  that 
they  should  be  partakers.     Therefore,  sinners  though 
they  were,  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  unworthy  in 
themselves,  and  weak  as   they  were  unworthy,  they 
knew  that  heaven  was  theirs ;  that  they  should  enter 
heaven  body  and  soul  ;  that  none  could  debar  them 
entrance,  because  he,  who  had  washed  them  from  their 
sins  in  his  own  blood,  and  imputed  to  them  his  right 
eoUBiiess,  and  acknowledged  them  as  members  of  his 
body,  was  now  thf  king  who  had  control  over  all  the 


Lect.  XXII.] 


AS   RULER  AND  JUDGE. 


487 


mansions  of  his  Father's  house,  and  had  promised  to 
come  aorain  and  receive  them  unto  himself,  that  where 
he  is  they  should  be  also.  They  could  have  no  doubt 
of  his  faithfulness,  they  could  have  no  doubt  of  his 
power ;  for  he  had  been  faithful  unto  death,  and  was 
now  head  over  all  things  to  his  church.  Thus  we  find 
that  an  assured  hope  of  heaven  was  the  great  stay  and 
comfort  of  the  apostles  and  of  the  primitive  Christians. 
They  set  their  hearts  on  heaven,  and  nothing  short  of 
heaven  could  at  all  satisfy  their  longing  expectations. 
Doubt  of  their  ultimate  blessedness  there,  the  possibility 
of  their  being  disappointed,  would  have  been  to  them 
the  power  of  keenest  torture :  "  If  for  this  life  only  we 
have  hope  in  Christ,"  said  the  apostle  Paul,  "  we  are 
of  all  men  most  miserable.'*'  Their  hope  was  in  Christ 
for  the  life  to  come.  The  same  comfort  is  ours,  beloved 
brethren.  Our  Saviour  is  in  heaven  ;  he  is  Lord  of 
heaven  —  Lord  of  heaven  in  our  nature ;  and  in  receiv- 
ing him  and  crowning  him,  the  Father  has  given  an 
earnest  of  receiving  us  and  crowning  us,  if  we  be  in- 
deed Christians.  It  was  to  gain  heaven  for  us  that  our 
Lord  Jesus  suffered  and  endured  ;  to  reach  heaven  and 
be  with  him  there,  should  be,  as  it  is,  the  great  aim  of 
all  his  true  followers,  and  our  only  comfort ;  but  our 
unspeakable  comfort  is,  that,  whatever  meets  us  here, 
heaven  will  be  ours  at  last,  because  Christ  has  made  it 
ours  now.  Let,  then,  our  conversation  be  in  heaven, 
our  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and 
the  holy  angels.  We  are  pilgrims  now,  but  we  are 
going  home,  and  that  home  is  heaven. 

2.  Our  strength  for  the  Christian  life  is  secured. 

Though  the  end  of  his  pilgrimage  be  secured  ia 


488 


CHRIST  ON  THE  THRONE 


[Lect.  XXH. 


Lect.  xxn.] 


AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE. 


489 


heaven,  the  Christian  knows  that  great  trials  may,  if 
his  time  on  eartli  be  prohmged,  lie  between  liis  present 
state  and  heaven  ;  nor  can    he  lielp  but  fear,  lest   a 
promise  being  left  him  of  entering  into  rest,  he  might 
seem  to  come  short  of  it.     He  would  not  deliberately 
wander  from  his  master's  footsteps,  nor  yield  to  temp- 
titien;   but  he  is  feeble,  his  heart  most  wicked  and 
il«»iliil,  his  knowledge  little,  and  his  judgment  weak. 
Pijir  fhall  he  restrain  that  wicked  heart  of  his  ?     H<)W 
undeceive  himself  from   its  sopliisms  ?     How  resist  its 
loncT-induI(>"ed  tendencies  to  draw  back  from  the  living 
God?   iWere   he   left  'to   liimself  he   would  despair; 
bill  he  is  fill.     His  master  is  not  beyond  his  reach; 
tliere  is  a  loor  open  by  which  his  faith  can  reach  him 
■till  ;  and  in  fixith  he  goes  througli  the  rent  vail  even  to 
tlM  throne  of  grace,  and  on  that  throne  he  sees  Jesus, 
his  intercessor,  beside  God  the  Father  almighty,  having 
fweived  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  for  all  the  members 
iif  hid  blessed  body.     As  the  Father  honors  the  Son 
hf  receiving  him  as  head  of  the  church,  so  the  Holy 
Ghost  honors  him  by  putting  all  his  energies  at  his  dis- 
posal for  the  church.     The  Holy  Ghost  enters  the  soid 
rf  each  heliever  as  the  earnest  of  eternal  life,  shedding 
the  light  of  truth  through  his  understanding,  the  love 
jof  God  through  his  heart,  power  from  on  high  through 
his  will.     In  a  word,  all  that  the  believer  needs  within 
fiMT  |i»  Christian   life  is  assured  to  him,  because  he 
Jmows  that  Christ  sits  on  his  throne  to  "  pour  out  by 
his  Holy  Spirit  heavenly  graces  upon  us  his  members." 
We  may  not,  therefore,   whatever'  be  our  conviction 
of  our  own  sin  and  insufficiency,    doubt   of   strength 
from  Christ,  so  long  as  we  have  continual  access  to 
|he  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb.     We  have  but  to 


ask,  and  we  receive,  and  receive  in  no  small  measure, 
grace  to  help  in  time  of  need,  grace  to  cover  all  our 
infirmities,  to  supply  all  our  wants,  to  transform  us 
from  all  that  we  are  by  nature  to  the  likeness  of  the 
second  Adam,  the  perfection  of  humanity  and  the 
heavenly  type  of  his  ransomed  seed. 

3.  As  our  strength  within  is  secured,  so  is  our  de- 
fence from  without. 

Our  Head,  by  his  victory  over  death  and  him  that 
had  power  of  death,  triumphed  over  all  his  and  our 
enemies  ;  nay,  by  right  of  the  covenant,  has  power 
over  all  created  instrumentalities  as  head  of  the  church 
for  the  church.  It  is,  therefore,  no  more  a  question 
whether  or  not  we  are  able  individually,  or  as  a  church, 
to  contend  aojainst  the  forces  adverse  to  our  cause,  or 
to  advance  towards  an  ultimate  success  the  kingdom 
of  which  we  have  been  made  partakers;  that  has  long 
since  been  settled.  We  are  nothing,  the  whole  church 
apart  from  its  head  is  nothing,  in  comparison  with  the 
world  and  the  devil.  Now  we  ask  with  uplifted  heads, 
is  not  Christ  able  ?  Has  he  not,  whose  is  all  power 
in  heaven  and  in  earth,  who  sitteth  at  the  right  hand 
of  God  the  Father  almighty,  the  force  as  he  has  the 
prerogative  to  overcome  for  us,  and  by  us,  that  we  may 
overcome  with  him  ?  O  believer,  when  by  /eason  of 
difficulties  around  you  and  threatenings  before  you, 
your  heart  flxils,  look  up  !  Look  up  to  Jesus,  where 
he  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  whither  all  the 
articles  of  your  faith  lead  you.  Only  set  your  affec- 
tions on  him  ;  only  cast  your  care  on  his  almighty 
arm,  and  vou  shall  be  certain  of  deliverance  and  of 
success. 


490 


CHRIST  ON  THE  THRONE  [Lect.  XXH. 


4.  Our  vindication  is  secure. 

Our  Lord  left  his  disciples  on  earth  to  take  his  seat 
on  his  throne.     Personally  absent  he  is  now,  though 
present  by  his  Spirit.     But  the  separation  will  not  be 
perpetual.     We  show  forth  in  the  holy  sacrament  of 
the  supper  his  death  ;  but  we  show  it  till  he  come. 
When  the  disciples   stood  gazing  up  at  the  heavens 
through  which  their  Lord  disappeared  in  glory,  angels 
were  sent  to  stand  by  them,  and  say,   "This   same 
Jesus,  which  is  taken  up  from  you  into  heaven,  shall 
so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into 
heaven ; "  and  he  himself  had  said  before,  "  If  I  go 
away,  I  will  come  again  and  receive  you  unto  myself, 
that  where  I  am  ye  may  be  also."     So  says  the  article 
of  our  creed :  "  From  thence  he  shall  come  to  judge 
the  quick  and  the  dead."     For  wise  reasons  he  will 
permit  his  church  to  be  tried,  assisting  them  by  his 
Spirit  and  his  power,  but  withholding  from  them  a  full 
success.     They  will  be  accused,  mocked,  baffled,  and 
persecuted.      Yet   only  for  a  time.      He  sits  on   his 
throne  expecting  till  his  "  enemies  be  made  his  foot- 
stool ; "  and  we,  though   on   earth,  have   a  gracious 
privilege   of   sharing  in   the    expectation  ;    for   when 
he  comes  again,  it  shall  be  to  judge  the  quick  and 
the  dead.     The  Lamb  that  was  slain  shall  sit  on  the 
judgment-seat,  to  justify  the  believer  from  the  curse 
by  his    own    righteousness  ;    to    condemn    the    unbe- 
liever because  his  mercy  has  been  rejected  ;  to  open 
with  his  nail-pierced  hands  the  kingdom  of  glory  for 
his  friends  ;    to  banish,  by  the  fierceness  of  his  own 
wrath,  his  enemies  to  an  everlasting  doom.      Before 
assembled  angels  and   an  observant   universe  will  he 


Lect.  XXH.] 


AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE. 


491 


I 


acknowledge  and  glorify  the  most  despised  of  his  little 
ones,  while  he  pours  eternal  contempt  upon  the  proud 
who  resisted  his  love. 

O  Christian,  O  unbeliever,  consider  who  can  stand 
before  him  in  the  judgment !  If  we  trust  in  our- 
selves, our  condemnation  is  sure ;  if  we  trust  in  him, 
our  vindication  shall  be  complete. 


\i 


END   OF    VOL.    I. 


238.4 


B4e 

2 


©oUimlJiit  mulucvsitvj 
In  titc  ©its  of  ilciu  IJorTi 


GIVEN    BY 


Dk  HewvvjDrisler 


t  »i 


'^ttMk^ 


EXPOSITORY   LECTURES 


?        ■>     »   )    »    t     1        >      : 


ON  THE 


•   *      »  )     :      J  ■ 


HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


BY 


GEORGE  W.   BETHUNE,  D.  D. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  II. 


NEW  YORK: 
SHELDON  AND   COMPANY. 

335  BROADWAY,   COR.   WORTH  ST. 
1864. 


if 


.-.  .•:'•:•.  ::*:•'  • 

I    I  I  ••* • 

•  •  •  I  .  •  ••S  •••  •    • 

••      •!  --  -  •  •  •    •  •      • 

:  .•;...  J 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1864,  by 

Sheldon  and  Company, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  tli©  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


<l  A.   AtVOUD,  PKIKTEE. 


W, 


If! 


t 


CONTENTS   OF  VOLUME  IL 

— • — 

LECTURE  XXIII. 

PAGE 

THE  JUDGMENT  BY  CHRIST 5 

LECTURE  x:av. 

THE   DIVINITY,  PERSONALITY,   AND    WORK   OF   THE   HO- 
LY GHOST 19 

LECTURE  XXV. 

THE     HOLY    CATHOLIC    CHURCH,    THE    COMMUNION    OF 

SAINTS 53 

LECTURE  XXVL 
THE   FORGIVENESS   OF   SINS 79 

LECTURE  XXVIL 

THE   RESURRECTION  OF   THE   BODY  ....        95 

LECTURE  XXVIIL 
THE   LIFE   EVERLASTING "         .      123 

LECTURE  XXIX. 
JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH 147 

LECTURE  XXX. 

JUSTIFICATION     BY    FAITH     DEFENDED;     OR,   THE     DOC- 
TRINE OF   GOOD   WORKS 165 

LECTURE  XXXL 

FAITH    FROM    THE   HOLY    GHOST    THROUGH    THE   WORD 

AND    THE    SACRAMENTS        ......      188 

LECTURE  XXXII. 

BAPTISM.      ITS   AUTHORITY  AND   DESIGN  .  .  .201 

LECTURE  XXXIII. 
BAPTISM.      THE   MODE 223 


\. 


•   '  t 


•  * 


•  • 


•-  t 


•  ••  »       • 


jy  CONTENTS. 

LECTURE  XXXIV. 

BAPTISM.      THE   SUBJECTS  .  .  i 

LECTURE  XXXV. 
THE    SACRAMENT    OF    THE    SUPPER.      ITS    INSTITUTION 
AND  ITS  MODE 

LECTURE  XXXVL 
THE  lord's  SUPPER 

LECTURE  XXX VIL 
TUB  lidKD'S  SUPPER.      (SECOND  LECTURE)       . 

LECTURE  XXXVm. 
AGAINST  TRANSUB8TANTIATI0N         .  . 

LECTURE  XXXIX. 
THE  POWER   OF   THE   KEYS 

LECTURE  XL. 

OF  THANKFULNESS     . 

LECTURE  XU. 
THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION 

LECTURE  XLII. 
THE  NATURE  OF  GOOD  WORKS 

LECTURE  XLIIL 
THB  TSW  COMMANDMENTS 

LECTURE  XLIV. 
THE   FIRST  COMMANDMENT  .... 


.      243 


♦  . 


•  . 


«  '* 


LECTURE  XLV. 
ON   THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  IDOLATB*  .1  311 

LECTURE  XLVL 

ON  PROFANE   SWEARING   . 

LECTURE  XL  VIL 

THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH   .     .     .    • 


261 


289 


309 


321 


345 


363 


877 


393 


409 


425 


.  443 


.  459 


.  477 


LECTURE  XXm. 


THE  JUDGMENT  BY  CHRIST. 


•  «       •",      •      ff        >  -  -I 

•y      1    »   ,j  •   9     J 
i  *     •      I   •       •       «. 


»   '    •- 


'.«..'?         ' 


»    •••    •  », 


NINETEENTH   LOBJ??   i^AY. 
THE  JUDGMENT  BY   CHRIST. 

He  hath  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  right- 
eousness, by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained.  —  Acts  xvii.  31. 

^HE  works  of  nature  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the 
-■-  revelation,  that  "  God  created  the  heavens  and  the 
earth."  No  power  less  than  infinite,  no  skill  less  than 
all-wise,  could  produce  from  nothing,  or  maintain  in 
its  order,  so  vast,  so  varied,  so  harmonious  a  system. 
But  when  we  search  in  the  events  of  human  life  for 
evidences  of  God's  moral  government,  the  discovery  is 
partial  and  even  doubtful.  Virtue  is  praised.  There 
are  systems  and  teachers  of  ethics.  Religion  is  a  sacred 
name.  There  is  no  land  without  temples,  no  nation 
without  worshippers.  Yet  there  are  few  who  are  nota- 
ble for  virtue,  none  who  are  perfect.  Religion  fails  to 
preserve  the  sanctity  of  truth,  purity,  and  love.  We 
cannot  mistake  the  fact  that  men  are  governed  by  men 
more  than  by  God.  Their  supposed  interests,  or  at  the 
best  their  natural  affections,  ramifying  self,  through 
family,  friends,  and  humanity,  decide  for  the  most  part 
the  right  and  the  wrong  of  every  action.  What  con- 
fusion is  the  result  ?  The  rich  trample  on  the  poor. 
The  poor  conspire  against  the  rich.  The  just  man  is 
persecuted  because  he  is  just.  The  vile,  when  success- 
ful, are  flattered  in  their  success.  The  calumniator 
stands  erect  upon  the  ashes  of  his  victim.  The  tyrant 
grasps  at  other  sceptres,  and  the  blood-drenched  earth 
quakes  beneath  artillery  more  destructive  than  heaven's 


t  I 


c  e  c  f  It 
e  «'  e  c « c 
f  «  «    e  i      ' 


S  JUDGMENT  BY  CHRIST.       [Lect.  XXIII. 


Lect.  XXIII.]       THE  JUDGMENT  BY  CHRIST. 


d 


thun.ler* '  !  'Vice  does  cften  proye  its  own  punishment ! 
There  are  phj^sical  reasons  whj^  incautious  excess  should 
produce  y?rstche4ness  <^?isease,  and  death.  But  does 
virtue  escape  ?  Ii  hiay  be  imperfect  virtue,  but  has  it 
immunity  so  far  as  it  is  virtue  ?  Is  vice  punished  so 
far  as  it  is  vice  ?  Are  rewards  and  punishments  so 
equally  distributed  as  to  show  beyond  a  question  that 
there  is  a  power  over  all  exact  in  justice  ?  We  must 
,go  beyond  this  life  and  this  world  for  the  satisfaction 
.ill  our  anxious  reason,  and  faith  must  be  our  guide. 
God  alone  can  vindicate  his  ways  to  man.  He  has 
done  sOp  The  ages  of  heathen  ignorance  and  dim  Ju- 
daism have  for  us  passed  away.  The  voice  of  God 
calls  aloud  to  our  souls  by  the  revelation  of  his  son. 
"  Repent,  ye  children  of  men.  No  longer  dream  of  se- 
curity in  your  sins,  nor  think  because  no  fire  at  once 
descends  to  consume  the  wicked,  that  sin  shall  go  un- 
ptmfiiiills  Though  men  may  boast  themselves  without 
the  fear  of  God,  because  one  day  is  like  another,  and 
all  things  continue  as  they  were ;  though  the  hearts 
of  the  children  of  men  are  more  fully  set  to  do  evil, 
because  of  long  impunity,  know  this,  that  I,  the  Lord 
jour  God,  your  Creator  and  your  Governor,  am  your 
Judge*  I  have  appointed  a  day  in  the  which  to  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  I  have 
ordained."  >. 

My  fnends,  careless  and  full  of  life  and  worldly 
hopes  as  we  may  be,  every  one  of  us  must  stand  before 
the  judgment-seat  of  God.  We  do  not  believe  this. 
It  cannot  be  that  we  realize  it.  If  we  did,  this  great 
thought  would  control  our  hearts,  and  press  upon  our 
minds,  and  rule  our  lives.  But  we  forget  it  The  tre- 
meii4p|is  ftilnreii  ^jitjiat  Aim  our  view  by  the  temp- 


tations  of  the  present.  O  that  God  would  by  our  holy 
text  this  day  compel  us  to  believe  and  tremble,  that  so 
we  may  come  to  believe  and  hope  ! 

We  have  before  us, 

The  fact,  the  method,  the  person. 

First  :  The  fact.  . 

He  has  appointed  a  day  in  the  which  he  will  judge 
the  world. 

Secondly  :   The  method. 

He  >vill  judge  the  world  in  righteousness. 

Thirdly:   The  person.  i 

By  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained. 

First  :  The  fact. 

He  will  judge.  Judgment  signifies  investigation  of 
the  conduct  of  a  moral  being,  and  the  passing  sentence 
upon  him  of  reward  or  punishment,  according  to  his 
merit  or  demerit. 

God  alone  is  judge.  He  only  has  authority.  None 
can  judge  him,  for  he  is  supreme,  and  his  will  is  the 
law,  and  all  other  beings  are  his  creatures,  and  there- 
fore his  subjects.  He  does  sometimes  delegate  his 
authority,  as  to  parents  or  magistrates,  but  the  judg- 
ment in  his  sight  is  void  if  it  be  not  according  to  his 
law.  He,  therefore,  is  really  the  judge.  It  is,  then,  a 
most  blasphemous  thing  to  quarrel  with  God's  doings, 
or  to  doubt  the  justice  of  his  most  holy  law  and  right- 
eous sentences.  It  is  a  most  presumptuous  thing  to 
sit  in  harsh  judgment  upon  our  fellow-men,  our  fellow- 
subjects  and  sinners ;  for  God  has  said,  "  Vengeance 
is  mine,  I  will  repay." 

God  only  is  able  to  judge.  None  but  he  can  discern 
the  inner  motives  of  the  moral  creature,  and  know  his 
true  character.     None  but  he  can  discern  the  conse- 


10 


THE  JUDGMENT  BY  CHRIST.      [Lect.  XXHI. 


Lect.  XXni.J         THE  JUDGMENT  BY  CHRIST. 


11 


quences  of  any  moral  act,  or  estimate  its  true  goodness 
or  evil.  None  but  he  can  bestow  reward,  or  execute 
wrath,  after  the  decision  is  made.  It  is,  then,  a  most 
silly  and  rebellious  thing  in  us  to  try  ourselves  other- 
wise than  by  the  divine  will,  or  to  form  our  conduct 
otherwise  than  by  the  divine  rule.  Rather  let  us 
ask  him  In  search  us  and  try  us,  and  see  if  there 
be  any  evil  way  in  us,  and  lead  us  in  the  way  ever- 
lasting. 

God  will  judge  Ms  creatures. 

Judgment  is  an  attribute  of  sovereignty.  There 
would  be  no  divine  government,  and  the  divine  laws 
would  be  inoperative  and  void,  if  God  were  not  to 
reward  his  obedient,  and  punish  his  disobedient  sub- 
jects. The  Epicureans  were  justly  considered  no  bet- 
ter than  atheists  for  teaching  that  the  divinity  had  no 
regard  to  the  conduct  of  men ;  and  those  in  our  time 
are  as  bad  who  strive  to  think  that  they  may  sin  with- 
out God's  taking  note  or  vengeance.  It  is  essential  to 
his  justice.  For,  as  he  is  the  Creator,  so  he  is  the 
teacher  and  pattern  for  all  his  intelligent  creatures, 
whose  only  excellence  is  in  being  like  him.  But,  if  he 
never  visits  iniquity  with  wrath,  or  righteousness  with 
favor,  if  the  inequalities  of  this  life  are  never  to  be 
compensated  in  another,  his  creatures  cannot  know 
from  him  which  is  the  right  or  which  the  wrong.  They 
can  have  no  motive  to  do  well,  no  determent  from  do- 
ing ill.  Nay,  his  very  nature  is  such  that  he  is  a  con- 
suming fire  to  all  that  is  evil,  and  the  light  of  joy 
and  peace  to  all  that  is  good.  So  that  they  who  deny 
a  judgment,  destroy  all  morals,  and  would  abandon 
the  world  to  a  fearful  and  most  destructive  confusion 
of  chance. 


God  will  judge  the  world.  By  "the  world,"  we 
must  understand  men,  as  the  only  moral  agents  in  it. 
Each  man  has  a  particular  judgment  when  he  passes 
into  the  eternal  world  by  death.  For  then  the  spirit 
returns  unto  God  who  gave  it,  and  cannot  fail  to  meet 
his  favor  or  condemnation.  Thus,  in  the  parable,  we 
see  Lazarus  enjoying  his  reward  in  Abraham's  bosom, 
but  the  rich  man  lifting  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torments. 
The  penitent  thief  was  promised  immediate  admission 
into  Paradise.  Paul  desired  to  depart  and  to  be  with 
Christ.  And  Peter  tells  us  that  the  spirits  of  the  old 
world  who  despised  the  long-suffering  of  God  in  the 
days  of  Noah,  are  in  prison.  This  should  make  us 
very  solemn  and  pious  in  our  preparation  for  death,  fojr 
at  any  moment  death  may  come  and  usher  us  before 
God,  after  which  no  repentance  can  avail  for  our  deliv- 
erance from  the  wrath  of  God,  which  burns  unto  the 
lowest  hell. 

But  this  judgment  is  not  the  great  judgment  of 
which  the  apostle  speaks.  Nor  will  all  the  penalties  of 
sin,  nor  all  the  rewards  of  righteousness,  be  dispensed 
until  both  soul  and  body  shall  receive  them  after  the 
resurrection.  Nor  will  the  justice  of  God  be  mani- 
fested unto  all  men,  except  all  men  be  present  as  wit- 
nesses of  the  judgment  of  all  men.  He  will  judge  the 
world. 

The  whole  world  shall  be  judged.  Not  one  shall 
escape.  Before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations. 
"  Every  one  of  us  must  appear  before  the  judgment- 
seat  of  Christ."  The  rich  and  the  poor,  the  bond  and 
the  free,  the  learned  and  the  unlearned,  the  pious  and 
the  unbelieving.  God  will  send  forth  his  holy  angels  to 
compel  every  soul  before  him.      His  piercing  eye  shall 


\ 


12 


THE  JUDGMENT  BY  CHRIST.        [Lect.  XXHI. 


detect  every  hiding  fugitive.      His  flames  shall  burn 
iJie  terror-stricken,  ^wretched  souls  that  would  cover 
Jhemselves  under  rocks  and  mountains. 

..ITet  the  individuality  of  each  sinner  will  not  be  lost 
in  the  vast  multitude.  Each  will  be  as  distinct,  and 
know  himself  to  be  as  distinct  in  the  eye  of  the  Judge, 
as  though  he  stood  alone  and  there  were  no  sinner  but 
he.  The  inquiry  will  be  into  all  the  actions  of  each, 
-—  his  thoughts,  his  words,  his  deeds.  For  every  evil 
thought  and  every  idle  word  (Oh  what  a  scrutiny  1) 
will  he  bring  each  of  us  into  judgment.  Each  man 
shall  receive  the  reward  of  his  own  works,  whether 
Ihey  be.  good  or  whether  they  be  evil.  As  we  have 
been  instrumental  in  leading  others  to  sin  or  to  right- 
eousness, we  shall  share  in  their  punishment  or  reward. 
But  otherwise,  no  one  will  suffer  for  his  neighbor,  or 
.can  thrust  his  neighbor  into  his  room.  Our  sins  are 
oar  own  acts  ;  we  must  bear  them  ourselves,  unless  by 
faith  we  have  covered  ourselves  with  the  righteousness 
of  Christ. 

In  the  sight  of  the  whole  world  we  shall  be  judged. 
God  will  bring  every  man*s  work  into  judgment.  The 
©lil  thoughts  of  lust,  dishonest  longings,  or  envious 
meanness,  which  we  had  hidden  in  our  hearts  from  our 
closest  friends,  will  then  be  apparent.  Our  secret  sins, 
at  the  detection  of  which  we  would  now  bum  with 
shame,  before  the  eyes  of  the  good,  the  eyes  of  our 
evU  companions,  aU  will  appear  without  cunning,  pal- 
liation, or  excuse.  Each  one's  conscience  will  then  be 
fearfully  awake.  We  shall  feel  intensely  our  own 
shame.  We  shall  see  each  one  the  shame  of  the  rest. 
The  sinner  will  condemn  himself.  All  sinners  will 
iQOiKkiipi  him.     Xhere  will  b^,pc>  more  a  false  public 


Lect.  XXIII.]        THE  JUDGMENT  BY  CHRIST. 


13 


opinion;  no  more  conspiracies  of  hand  joining  in  hand 
to  make  the  wrong  appear  the  right ;  no  more  standing 
by  friends  to  cover  up  iniquities.  The  whole  world, 
condemned  themselves,  will  condemn  each  sinner  of 
the  whole  world.  Oh  what  infamy  for  the  sinner! 
oh  what  illustrious  fame  for  the  good  I 

God  hath  appointed  a  day  in  the  which  he  will  judge 
the  world. 

His  vengeance,  though  it  delay,  does  not  sleep.  The 
day  is  fixed.  His  determination  is  made.  He  is  now 
recording  our  every  act,  and  word,  and  thought,  against 
that  day.  So  that  even  now  our  account  is  making  up, 
our  judgment  is  preparing.  The  day  is  fixed.  It  will 
come,  and  come  in  all  its  terrible  truth.  When  that 
day  shall  come,  no  man  knoweth.  They  profane  the 
scriptures  who  dare  to  pronounce  it.  But  the  same 
scriptures  teach  that  it  will  be  at  the  end  of  the  world. 
Not  at  the  end  of  this  dispensation,  as  some  interpret 
the  word.  That  is  not  the  usual  meaning  of  the  word 
world  in  Scripture  ;  and  we  have  no  right  to  change  a 
meaning  the  Holy  Ghost  has  given,  when  the  Holy 
Ghost  does  not  change  it.  The  judgment  must  be 
afler  the  final  resurrection,  for  all  the  dead  will  be 
there.  It  is  to  be  followed  immediately  by  the  eternal 
punishment  of  the  wicked,  and  the  eternal  life  of  the 
righteous.  It  shall  be  when  Christ  comes  in  great 
glory,  and  all  his  holy  angels  with  him,  and  he  shall  sit 
upon  the  throne  of  his  glory.  It  shall  be  at  the  con- 
summation of  the  things  of  this  world,  or  else  the 
design  of  the  judgment  in  vindicating  all  God's  ways 
to  man  will  not  be  met.  Ah,  my  fi'iends,  whether 
that  day  be  remote  or  near,  the  day  of  our  death  is 
near,  and  after  death  there  can  be  no  preparation  made 


14 


THE  JUDGMENT   BY  CHRIST.        [Lect.XXIH- 


Lect.  XXHL]       the  judgment  by  CHRIST. 


15 


if 


1 


to  meet  it.  Would  that  the  time,  wasted  in  curious 
questions  about  times  and  seasons,  were  spent  in  holy 
walking  with  God,  and  preaching  and  telling  the  story 
of  Christ  crucified. 

Secondly  :  The  method  of  the  judgment. 

He  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness. 

In  righteousness.  Not  in  arbitrary  severity.  God 
will  be  angry  with  the  wicked  in  that  day.  But  the 
anger  of  God  is  not  like  the  wrath  of  man,  unjust  and 
cruel.  The  wicked  are  his  enemies,  but  he  will,  even 
in  judging  his  enemies,  lay  "judgment  to  the  line,  and 
righteousness  to  the  plummet."  He  will  try  them 
fairly,  and  only  by  the  law  he  has  given  them,  and  the 
eternal  principles  of  right  from  which  that  law  pro- 
ceeded. Their  own  conscience,  the  conscience  of  all 
moral  beings,  shall  confess  him  to  be  just. 

Nor  will  he  judge  partially  or  leniently.  He  has 
declared  that  he  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty ; 
that  eveiy  tnan  shall  receive  the  reward  of  his  deeds  ; 
that  the  wages  of  sin  is  death ;  and  that  the  wicked 
shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment.  That  there 
will  be  degrees  of  wickedness  in  the  persons  judged, 
one  cannot  question ;  and,  consequently,  there  will  be 
degrees  of  punishment ;  but  the  judgment  will  be  rigid, 
no  weak  sympathy  for  the  criminal  will  melt  the  judge 
to  pardon  or  reduce  the  penalty.  Stem,  unbending, 
perfect  righteousness  will  determine  all. 

But  will  there  be  no  mercy?  Yes;  but  mercy 
through  righteousness.  God  will  be  as  faithful  to  his 
promises  as  to  his  law.  He  has  promised  pardon  to 
Christ  for  all  his  people,  because  Christ  for  them  hath 
fulfilled  the  law  and  made  it  honorable  ;  earned  their 
sonrows,  and  borne  their  sins  upon  the  tree.      There 


was  mercy  in  the  provision  of  the  atoning  righteous- 
ness of  the  Son  of  God.  There  will  be  justice  in 
acquitting  for  the  sake  of  that  righteousness  all  who, 
according  to  the  promise,  have  trusted  in  Christ  as 
their  surety,  their  advocate,  and  redeemer.  Thus,  even 
while  the  sinner  saved  through  Christ  enters  into  eter- 
nal life,  the  justice  of  God  will  burn  the  more  brightly, 
because  he  pardoned  not  without  a  ransom.  Vain, 
therefore,  are  all  the  sinner's  hopes  of  escape  from  the 
mere  goodness  or  the  mere  justice  of  God.  Goodness 
cannot  save  him.  Justice  will  not  let  him  escape. 
There  is  no  safety  from  the  righteousness  of  God,  but 
under  the  covering  wings  of  a  Saviour's  righteousness. 

Thirdly  :  The  person  of  the  judge. 

That  man  whom  he  hath  ordained. 

This  we  know  from  other  scriptures  is  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord.  He  is  the  man  ordained  mediator  in  all 
God's  dealings  with  fallen  man ;  ordained  as  the  Sav- 
iour ;  ordained  as  the  advocate ;  ordained  as  the  king ; 
ordained  as  the  judge. 

He  is  called  that  man,  not  because  he  is  merely  man, 
for  he  is  also  God,  equal  with  God.  For,  indeed,  who 
that  is  not  God  could  bear  the  tremendous  majesty  that 
shall  cover  the  judgment-throne?  Who  that  is  not 
God  can  exert  the  omniscient  scrutiny  essential  to  that 
judgment  of  righteousness?  Who  that  is  not  God 
(for  if  not  God,  he  must  be  a  creature  and  a  servant) 
can  judge  the  servants  of  the  Most  High  ?  But  he  is 
called  "  that  man,''  because,  for  reasons  we  shall  soon 
discover,  it  is  Christ,  God  incarnate  as  the  mediator, 
who  shall  execute  the  judgment  of  that  great  day. 

Christ  is  the  eternal  Word  ;  the  Word  that  was  God, 
and  that  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  his  glory 


IQ  THE  JUDGMENT  BT  CHRIST.        [Lkct.  XXIU. 

being  that  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Fathe'vf-ll  f 
™  and  truth.    It  is  the  office  of  the  eternal  Word  to 

Manifest  the  godhead.  By  him  the  -"^^s  -ere  made- 
By  him' all  providence  is  admimstered,  and  by  him  the 
world  will  be  judged. 

But  it  is  the  Word  incarnate  by  whom  God  wUl 
judge  the  world.     This  is  because 

Christ  undertook  in  the  covenant  of  redemption  the 
full  vmdication  of  the  law.    Because  of  *e  interc^s.on 
of  Christ  the  judgment  has  been  suspended.     It  «, 
therefore,  due  to  eternal  justice,  and  to  the  honor  of  the 
law,  that  Christ  should  adjudge  the  full  penalty  of  that 
law  upon  all  who,  notwithstanding  his  atonement,  have 
refused  to  repent  and  believe,  that  they  might  be  saved 
through  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Chnst.     It  is  meet 
that  the  world  should  see  that  Chnst  is  not  the  m.ni^ 
ter  of  sin,  but  that  even  he  who  opened  the  way  ot 
righteous  mercy  should  execute  a  righteous  vengeance 
on  the  impenitent.    Nay,  his  own  honor  ^  the  weU- 
beloved  of  God,  demands  that  he  should  be  uplifted 
in  glory  and  power,  over  all  those  who  insulted  and 
reviled  and  persecuted  himself  and  his  people. 

Christ,  also,  has  redeemed  his  people.     God  has 
accepted  the  ransom  price.     He  has,  therefore,  given 
him  his  people,  even  all  who  believed  upon  his  name 
Therefore,  to  make  his  glory  as  a  Saviour  most  Mly 
manifest,  the  Father  appoints  him  judge  ;  tha,t  with  his 
own  lips,  those  out  of  which  went  forth  his  atonmg 
life,  those  from  which  have  proceeded  so  many  interces- 
sory prayers,  he  might  pronounce  the  acquittal  of  his 
people ;  and,  with  his  own  hands,  that  were  nailed  upon 
the  cross,  and  so  long  stretched  forth  in  petition,  he 
might  put  upon  their  heads  the  crown  of  hfe. 


Lect.  XXIU.]         THE  JUDGMENT  BY  CHRIST. 


IT 


Thus  the  apostle  declares  that  God  has  given  assur- 
ance of  Christ  being  the  judge  of  the  world,  by  raising 
him  up  from  the  dead,  because  in  raising  him  from  the 
dead,  God  the  Father  by  the  Eternal  Spirit  declared 
Christ's  merit  in  the  covenant  complete,  and  his  atone- 
ment finished. 

Here  is  great  comfort  for  the  believer.  Sinner 
though  he  has  been,  and  is,  he  shall  meet  no  angry 
judge.  The  judge  is  he  who  once  was  his  advocate, 
his  elder  brother,  his  sympathizing  friend,  his  everlast- 
ing righteousness.  Jesus  sits  upon  the  throne,  —  Jesus, 
who  saves  his  people  from  their  sins. 

But  it  is  a  huge  aggravation  of  terror  to  the  impen- 
itent, that  they  shall  see  in  their  judge  the  Saviour 
they  rejected  and  scorned.  All  hope  will  be  at  an 
end  when  the  Saviour  condemns.  They  then  will  be 
willing  to  give  worlds,  if  they  had  them,  for  one  of 
those  gracious  invitations,  or  of  those  hours  of  plead- 
in"  mercy  which  they  once  scorned  in  such  frequency. 
Then  shall  they  be  without  excuse,  for  they  would  not 
believe  and  repent,  until  the  very  blood  of  the  cross 
witnesses  against  them.  Oh,  how  fierce  the  anger  of 
love  like  Christ's  turned  into  unpitying  wrath  ! 

APPLICATION. 

The  wisdom  of  preparing  for  the  judgment. 

We  cannot  avoid  it. 

We  cannot  abide  it. 

We  cannot  resist  it. 

The  method  of  preparing  for  the  judgment. 

By  meeting  God  now. 

In  his  word  as  the  test  and  rule  of  our  conduct. 

In  prayer  as  in  his  searching  presence. 

VOL.  II.  2 


»mmm  mwiuvrnwrnrnm 


18  THE  JUDGMENT  BY  CHRIST.       [Lect.  XXHI. 

In  Christ  as  the  only  righteousness. 

The  folly  of  postponing  the  preparation. 

We  may  die. 

We  may  become  hardened. 

We  need  all  our  time. 


LECTURE  XXIV. 


THE  DIVINITY,  PERSONALITY,  AND  WORK, 


OF 


THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


■i 


TWENTIETH  LORD'S  DAY. 

"  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

THE  DIVINITY,  PERSONALITY,  AND 
WORK,  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 

Quest.  LIII.     What  dost  thou  believe  concerning  the  Holy  Ghost  ? 

Ans.  First,  that  he  is  trae  and  eternal  God  with  the  Father  and  the  Son; 
secondly,  that  he  is  also  given  me  to  make  me  by  a  true  faith  partaker 
of  Christ  and  all  his  benefits,  that  he  may  comfort  me  and  abide  with 
me  forever. 

npHE  lesson  for  to-day  brings  before  us  the  doctrine 
-'-  of  scripture  concerning  the  Third  Person  of  the 
ever-blessed  Trinity,  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  is  divided 
into  two  parts :  the  first,  asserting  his  true  and  proper 
divinity,  coequal  and  coessential  with  the  Father  and  the 
Son ;  the  second,  his  official  work,  or  the  gracious  ben- 
efits conferred  by  his  personal  agency  upon  all  believers. 
First  :  The  true  and  proper  divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
This  is  an  essential  article  in  the  faith  of  the  Catho- 
lic church  from  the  beginning  and  ever  since.  Devout 
Christians  of  all  ages  have  been  unanimous  in  cherish- 
ing this  belief,  not  only  because  it  is  clearly  taught 
in  the  divine  Word,  but  also  because  it  is  an  especial 
source  of  religious  comfort  and  strength.  It  is  found 
universally,  that,  as  they  who  deny  the  necessity  and 
reality  of  the  atonement,  deny  the  divinity  of  Christ, 
so  they  who  deny  the  necessity  and  reality  of  a  new 
birth,  deny  the  divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  vice 
versa  ;  as  they  who  deny  the  divinity  of  Christ,  deny 
the   atonement,   so   they,  who    deny  the  divinity   of 


ii 


I 


I   i 


I 


22  THE  DrrniTT,  PERSONALITY,     [Lbci.  XXIV. 

the  Holy  Ghost,  deny  the  new  birth  or  regenera- 
tion  jL  as  o^  sense  of  sin  and  gmlt  makes  the 
Wty  of  Christ  the  Saviour  precious  ^o  us  because 
no  merit  less  than  infinite  can  suffice  for  our  jus  m 

Lion  with  God,  so  our  sense  of  /g---' "■fXS 
and  corruption  makes  the  divinity  of  the  Comtorter 
liL,  Lause  none  'ess  than  ali^^^^^^^^^^^ 

::f ralir" A^;:re:an  e^^^^^^^^^        i^  never 
:    ;;  of  meditating  on  the  excellence  o    «iej^ne- 
nient,  and  of  him  through  whose  vicarious  nghteous 
Te;  it  is  accomplished,  though  the  truth  be  nev^er  so 
famil  ar  to  him,  so  does  he  delight  to  confi™,  ^- 
peated  examination  of  scripture  testimony,  h's  faith  m 
the  divine  perfections  of  that  S-e--  agent  ^y.^^^^^^^ 
he  is  brou-ht  out  of  darkness  into  light,  and  from  the 
dp^s  of  tin  to  the  heights  of  glory.      Nor    et  any  ^ 
impatient  of  this  discussion,  because,  as  they  think, 
Sr  faith  in  the  article  before  us  is  settled,  so  tlia 
they  need  no  farther  instruction  on  it ;  for,  in  the  first 
pkce    with  all  deference  to  the  ordinary  information 
f  professing  Christians,  it  may  be  questioned  whed.er 
there  are  not  at  least  some  in  every  congregation  who 
have  not  even  glanced  over  the  scriptural  evideiice  of 
this  doctrine ;  or,  if  they  have,  are  prepared   o  state  i 
for  the  satisfaction  of  an  inquirer,  or  defend  it  against 
a  caviller,  as  they  are  bound  to  do  should  occasion  re- 
quire.    Besides,  it  is  the  office  of  the  blessed  Paka- 
LxE  (Comforter),  whose  divine  honor  we  celebrate 
to  teach  us  all  things,  and  to  bring  all  tbmgs  to  our 
remembrance ;  nor  can  we  hope  to  enjoy  such  great 
benefits,  except  we  use  the  means  by  which  he  impart^ 
them.     Were  the  exhibition  of  Christian  doctrine  to 


Lect.  XXIV.]      AND  WORK  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


23 


be  suspended  because  most  Christians  are  acquainted 
with  it,  the  younger  disciples  would  soon  be  found 
ignorant,  and  all  forms  of  mischievous  error  would  grow 
up  in  the  church  from  the  absence  of  teaching  the  con- 
trary. Nor  are  we  without  reason  of  fear  that  this  par- 
ticular doctrine,  fundamental  and  edifying  as  it  is,  has, 
especially  of  late,  received  too  little  consideration. 

It  must  be  obvious  to  you,  that,  though  the  doctrine 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  pervades  the  whole  Scriptures,  it  is 
not  so  formally  or  elaborately  expressed  as  that  con- 
cerning the  mediator  Christ  Jesus  ;  and  the  reason  is, 
that  our  Lord  being  presented  to  us  in  a  human  form, 
and  being  indeed  man,  there  was  greater  need  that  his 
personal  divinity  should  be  assured ;  and  also,  as  the 
basis  of  our  justification  should  be  fully  apprehended 
by  us,  there  was  greater  need  that  his  work  should  be 
thoroughly  explained ;  while  the  purely  spiritual  nature 
of  the  Comforter,  and  the  inexplicable  character  of  the 
process  through  which  he  accomplishes  his  work  in  the 
hearts  of  men,  render  it  necessary  only  that  his  agency 
and  his  office  should  be  revealed.  The  Scripture 
answers  no  idle  or  curious  questions,  nor  will  open  its 
living  oracles  for  any  who  are  not  of  a  humble  and 
childlike  mind.  Hence,  a  much  larger  portion  of  both 
the  creed  and  the  catechism  is  given  to  declarations 
respecting  Christ  than  to  those  respecting  the  Holy 
Ghost.  We  may,  however,  regret  (if  an  expression 
of  the  kind  be  allowable)  that  the  church  has  not  pro- 
vided us  with  more  instruction  on  this  subject ;  but  if 
the  treatment  be  brief,  it  should  be,  as  far  as  possible, 
clear  and  explicit. 

It  must  also  be  remembered  that,  while  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity  is  traceable  by  the  light  of  the  gospel. 


II       ' 


I 


24 


THE  DIVINITY,  PERSONALITY,     [Lect.  XXIV. 


Lect.  XXIV.]      AND  WORK  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


throughout  the  older  Scriptures,  it  is  emphatically  a 
doctrine  of  the  New  Testament ;  and  that  the  titles 
©f  the  three  eternally  distinct  and  coexistent  persons, 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  though  descriptive  (at 
least  for  aught  we  know)  of  the  ineffable  relations 
existing  between  them  from  eternity,  are  throughout 
the  ev^gelical  books  descriptive  of  their  several  offices 
in  the  plan  of  redemption. 

With  this  preface  let  us  now  most  reverentially  con- 
sider under  three  heads  the  third  adorable  person  of 
.the  ever-blessed  Trinity. 

I.  His  name,  —  The  Holy  Ghost. 
n.  Wh  distinct  personality. 
III.  His  true  divinity^ 
I.  His  name  :  —  The  Holy  Ghost. 
Ghost   and   ^irit  are,   in   our   English   Scriptures, 
synonymous  and  interchangeable  terms.      Thus  (Luke 
yyiJL  46)  we  read :  "  And  when  Jesus  had  cried  with 
a  loud  voice,  to  said.  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  com- 
mend my  spirit ;  and  having  said  thus,  he  gave  up  the 
ghost:'     The  original  for  both  words  is  the  same  (com- 
pare the  Greek  of  Matt,  xxvii.  50,  and  of  John  xix. 
30).     G-host  is  a  purely  English  word  ;  spirit,  a  Latin 
word  anglicized ;  and  both  translate  a  Hebrew  word 
(rn-i  ruah^,  which,  when  applied  to  living  beings,  is, 
throughout  the  Old  Testament,  translated  spirit.     Both 
the  Hebrew  and  Greek  terms  are  figurative,  the  He- 
brew sif^nifying  primarily  wind,  and  the  Latin  breath, 
and  both  are  intended  to  express  the  immaterial  or 
unsubstantial  nature  of  the  class  of  being  which  we 
call  spirit.      In  those  languages,  no  nearer  approach 
could  be  made  to  a  designation  of  existence  not  bodily. 
The  sound  of  the  words  shows  their  origin, -rwaA 


25 


/resembling  that  made  by  the  wind  ;  spi-ritus  that  made 
by  the  breath.  Our  English  word  ghost  seems  to  be 
radical  and  primary  ;  at  least  its  etymology  is  now  too 
obscure  to  be  traceable.  It  is  possible  that  it  was 
adopted  for  the  same  reason  of  sound,  ghos-t,  or  gheis-t, 
though  the  conjecture  is  very  doubtful,  many  English 
words,  having  no  relation  to  wind  or  breath,  having  the 
same  sibilant  sound.  Certain  it  is,  that,  while  the  He- 
brew word  is  wind,  and  the  Latin  breath,  the  English 
ghost  is  never  used  but  to  signify  either  the  spirit  of 
man  (and  that  after  its  separation,  or  at  the  moment  of 
its  separation,  from  the  body)  and  the  adorable  Holy 
Spirit,  or  Holy  Ghost.  Spirit  is  also  used  in  both 
testaments  for  an  extraordinary  faculty,  as  a  spirit  of 
prophecy,  or  a  spirit  of  divination,  and  as  Daniel  is  said 
to  have  had  "  an  excellent  spirit "  (compare  Dan.  v. 
12,  and  vi.  3)  ;  and  again  for  a  prevailing  temper  or 
disposition,  as  a  spirit  of  fear,  or  of  bondage,  or  of  the 
world,  or  of  meekness,  or  of  heaviness ;  and  there  are 
other  uses  of  the  term,  which  need  not  be  cited.  No 
such  use,  however,  is  made  of  our  word  ghost,  which 
has  this  advantage,  that  it  not  only  translates  the  orig- 
inal, but  gives  the  exact  idea  in  the  venerable  name  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Still,  as  it  is  not  the  word  in  the 
original,  we  can  avail  ourselves  of  it  only  as  an  expli- 
cative. When,  therefore,  the  Scriptures,  or  we,  follow- 
ing the  Scriptures,  speak  of  the  infinitely  glorious  Third 
Person  of  the  Trinity  as  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  Spirit, 
it  is  expressive  of  his  simple  essence  as  a  living,  intelli- 
gent, active  being,  without  body  or  material  substance, 
as  when  our  Lord  says  :  "  God  is  a  spirit ;  "  and,  again, 
when  the  disciples  were  affrighted  on  his  appearance 
among  them  after  his  resurrection,   "  supposing  that 


t 


Jil' 


THE  DIVINITY,  PERSONALITY,      [Lect.  XXIV. 


Lect.  XXIV.]         AND  WORK  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


2T 


they  had  seen  a  spirit,"  "  he  said  unto  them :  ...  Be- 
hold my  hands  and  my  feet,  that  it  is  I  myself ;  handle 
me  and  see  ;  for  a  spirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bones  as  ye 

see  me  have.'* 

But  he  is  termed  The  Holy  Spirit  to  distinguish 
him  by  that  epithet  emphatically  from  all  created 
spirits,  which,  at  their  best  estate,  are  infinitely  below 
him  in  holiness,  and  capable  of  sin.  He  is  infinitely, 
essentially,  and  unchangeably  holy. 

But,  as  The  Third  Person  has  this  infinitely  holy 
spirituality  of  essence  (or  being)  in  common  with  the 
First  and  Swond  Persons,  it  may  be  asked :  Why  he 
is  specially  and  only  designated  as  The  Holy  Spirit 
or  Ghost  ?     This  may  be  at  least  partially  (for  there 
must  be  mysteries  here  into  which  we  cannot  enter) 
mi  satisfactorily  answered  from  the  character  of  the 
operations  specially  attributed  to  him,  and  particularly 
his  work  in  believers ;  of  which  we  shall  soon  have 
occasion    to  speak    more    at    large.      The    Father, 
throughout  the  development  of  the  divine  purposes,  is 
exhibfted  as  the  representative  of  the  godhead,  direct- 
ing and  acknowledging  the  several  operations.     It  is 
his  will,  as  the  will  of  the  godhead,  which  is  through 
wM ;  but  when  the  godhead  speaks  or  visibly  acts,  it 
is  ever  by  the  Second  Person  or  the  Son  ;  who,  for  this 
reason,  is  called  "  the  Word  ; "  "  the  brightness  (or 
shining  forth)  of  his  glory,  and  the  express  image  (or 
open  representation)  of  his   person   (or  existence)." 
So,  when  the  godhead  acts  silently,  invisibly,  and  effi- 
ciently (that  is  carrying  into  effect  or  consummately) 
the  divine  purposes  as  manifested  and  operated  by  the 
Word,  it  fc  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  acts  wholly  and 
solely  in  a  purely  spiritual  manner.     Especially,  as  we 


vmcmg, 
ing." 


said,  is  this  the  case  with  his  divine  work  in  the  souls 
of  believers,  and  in  their  bodies  as  related  to  their  souls 
in  the  Christian  life.     All  his  effects  there  (we  say 
effects,  for  all  his  works  are  effects,  not  preparatory  or 
instrumental  processes)  are  noiseless  and  invisible,  or 
purely  spiritual,  as  "quickening,"  "converting,"  "con- 
"  "  enlightening,"  "  strengthening,"  "  sanctify- 
Hence  is  he  made  known  unto  us  as  the  Spirit, 
the  Holy  Ghost.     The  name  is  also  characteristic  of 
the  mode  by  which  he  proceeds  from  the  Father.     By 
the  Son  the  Father  speaks ;  but  the  Holy  Ghost,  in 
answer  to  the  prayer  of  the  Son,  is  breathed  or  spirit- 
ually sent  through  the  words  and  the  works  of  the 
Son,  to  effect  their  purposes.     Thus  the  Saviour  not 
only  spake  to  the  disciples  after  his  resurrection,  but, 
by  the  mediatorial  prerogative,  which  was  then  his, 
"  he  breathed  upon  them  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive 
ye  the  Holy  Ghost."     This  breathing,  however,  was 
only  a  type  or  perceptible  sign  of  the  spiritual  method 
by  which  the  Holy  Ghost  is  imparted,  and  for  the  con- 
vincing of  the  disciples  not  yet  weaned  from  the  habit 
of  sensible  manifestations  under  the  old  law ;  so  was 
also  the  shape  of  fire  hovering  and  descending  like  a 
dove  on  the  head  of  Christ,  as  he  came  up  from  his 
baptism  by  John,  and  "  the  rushing  mighty  wind  "  that 
'"  filled  the  place  "  where  the  disciples  were  sitting  at 
the  Pentecost,  and  the  "  cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire  " 
that  "  sat  upon  each  of  them."     For  the  Holy  Ghost, 
•being  pure  spirit,  cannot  be  breath,  or  wind,  or  fire  ; 
though  each  of  those  elements  may  be  employed  by 
divine  pity  of  our  weakness  to  represent  in  a  lively 
manner  his  mysterious,  mighty,  and  purifying  influ- 
ences.     And   you  will   observe  that  all   the  effects 


r 


I 


•  THE  DIVINITY,  PERSONALITY,        [Lbct-  XXIV. 

wrought  simultaneously  with  those  perceptible  exhibi- 
tionsrwere  spiritual.     The  baptism  by  fire  was  the 
anointment  of  our  Lord's  humanity  with  the  spirit  ot 
wisdom  and  understanding,  "  the  spirit  of  counsel  and  of 
might,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the 
Lord  ; "  according  to  Isaiah's  prophecy.     So  with  the 
gifts  to  the  disciples  at  the  Pentecost.     Their  tongues, 
or  any  of  their  corporeal  faculties,  were  not  altered ; 
tot  through  the  energies  of  the  Holy  Ghost  within 
them,  they  had  new  spiritual  faculties  to  use  them  in 
the  divine  service.    There  is  but  one  work  or  effect  ot 
the  Holy  Ghost,  which  was  not  apparently  of  this 
purely  spiritual  character,  and  that  was  the  conception 
of  the  Virgin  Mary  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  but  the  mys- 
teries of  the  incarnation  are  far  beyond  the  limits  ot 
our  inquiry.     The  effects  wrought  in  physical  nature 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  at  the  beginning  of  our  system, 
Me  to  be  regarded  as  a  gigantic  type  of  the  new  spirit- 
wJi  creation  in  Christ  Jesus ;  *  and  even  m  them  the 
operation  of  the  Spirit  was  m  giving  efficiency  to  the 
Will  uttered  by  the  Word ;  for,  at  each  step  of  the 
process,  we  read  that  the  Lord  said.  Let  the  thing  be. 
There  was  a  Trinity  in  the  creation,  as,  indeed,  the 
learned  Jews  failed  not  to  perceive,  though  they  under- 
stood not  the  doctrine  and  had  not  the  term,  — the 
Will,  the  Word,  and  the  Energy ;  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Spbit.     But,  as  we  observed  in  our  preface, 
it  is  with  reference  to   the  plan  of  redemption  that 
the  names  by  which  the  three  persons  of  the  godhead 
«re  made  known  to  us,  are  used  in  the  evangelical 

writings. 

11.  The  distinct  personality  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

•  In  both  cases  it  is  giving  life  which  is  immaterial. 


Lect.  XXIV.]      AND  WORK  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


2d 


The  testimony  of  the  Scriptures  is  of  such  a  kind, 
that  if  we  prove  by  it  the  distinct  personality  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  his  divinity  must  be  acknowledged  as  a 
necessary  consequence.      Hence,  those  who  object  to 
the  belief  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  third  coequal 
person  of  the  Trinity,  are  divided  into  two  classes: 
one,  like  the  Arians,  considering  that  sacred  name  to 
signify  a  mere  influence  of  God ;  the  other,  like  the 
Sabellians,  considering  it  to  be  another   title  of  the 
Father.     Had  we  time,  it  would  be  well  to  examine 
and  refute  both  these  heresies  in  detail,  but  such  par- 
ticularity is  not  required.     It  will  appear  from  the  use 
we  shall  make  of  Scripture-testimony,  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  a  being,  not  an  accident  or  quality  or  mode 
of  being ;  an  agent,  not  an  action,  and  an  agent  dis- 
tinct from  the  two  other  divine  agents,*  Father  and 
Son;    and,  also,  that  will,  affection,   action,  and   au- 
thority are  predicated  of  (or  ascribed  to)  him.     Proof 
of  these  several  points  demonstrate  his  distinct  person- 
ality. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  remarkable,  that,  while  the 
Greek  Trvufia,  with  its  article  and  qualifying  adjective 
TO  iytW,  is  in  the  neuter  gendei:,  the  pronouns  and  other 
relatives  to  it  are  in  the  masculine,  showing,  as  any 
one  acquainted  with  language  knows,  that  the  Spirit 
referred  to  is  a  person'and  not  a  thing :  «  But  the  Com- 
forter, the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send  in 
my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all  things."  Again,  "  If 
I  go  not  away  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you, 
but  if  I  depart  I  will  send  him  unto  you;  and  when 
he 'is  come,  he  will  reprove  the  world  of  sin,"  etc. 
Ai^roi' :  'Exctvos.     Such  language  clearly  designates,  not 

♦  Heber's  Bampton  Lectures,  Lect.  I.  p.  46. 


I 


it 


1 

i 


THE  DIVINITY,  PEESONAUTT,      [Lkci.  XXIV. 

«,  influence  or  an  efifect,  but  a  distinct,  personal,  intel- 
rge^fagent;  besides  which,  Comforter  .s  a  personal 

*^2^  PewOTal  properties  are  ascribed  to  him. 

«:  Wm.     As  in'l  Cor  xii.  .^rll,  -^^-e  the  aposde^ 
havin.'  described  the  "diversities  of  gifts     and      ad 
Srations,"  says  :  "All  these  worketh  (energizeth) 
That  one  and  the  felf-same  Spirit,  dividing  to  every  man 

TSowlif  As  1  Cor.  ii.  10,11:  "God  hatii 
Ji  tLm'unto  us  by  his  Spirit ;  for  the  ^pin 
searcheth  all  things,  yea  the  deep  things  of  God ,  tor 
Xt  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the  spirit 
If  man  which  is  in  him  ?  Even  so  the  things  of  God 
tnoweth  no  man  (no  one)  but  the  Spirit  of  God.  bo, 
Slori  Lord  (John  xiv.  26):  "He  shall  teach  you 

all  thincrs ; "  therefore,  he  knows  all  things.  - 

Tlffe  tions.     Rom.  xv.  30  :  ;'  Now  I  ^ese-h  you 

breto,  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  and  for  the 

""rVowe^'Ri  XV.  13  :  »  That  ye  may  abound  in 
hope  !nTin  the  power  of  the  Holy  f  ost ; '    -d  - 
12;  "  through  mighty  signs  and  wonders  by  the  powei 
of  the  Holy  Ghost."  .. 

&  Liableness  to  offence  and  resistance.     Matt.  xii. 
qi %'>•  "All  other  sin  and  blasphemy  (blasphemy  is 
fnsuU  io  God)  may  be  forgiven  unto  men ;  but  the 
Cemy  aginst  L  Holy  ^host  (^^^^^-£-^,1 
the  Spirit)  shall  not  be  forgiven  unto  men.    And  wft(> 
o  veHpiketh  a  word  against  the  Son  "f  man  ^t  shdl 
be  forgiven  him ;  but  whosoever  speaketh  agauist  tbe 
Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  h-,  n-t^er  n  *h« 
world  nor  in  the  world  to  come."     And  Acts  ^.  3,  4. 


Lect.  XXIV.]       AND  WORK  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


31 


where  Ppter  says  to  Ananias :  "  Why  liath  Satan  filled 
thine  heart  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  .  .  .  .  Thou 
hast  not  lied  unto  men,  but  unto  God."  Again,  9th : 
"  How  is  it  that  ye  have  agreed  together  to  tempt  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  ?  "  So>  also,  the  martyr  Stephen, 
vii.  51:  "Ye  do  always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost;  as 
your  fathers  did,  so  do  ye ; "  and  the  apostle  (Ephes. 
iv.  30)  :  "  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  ;  where- 
by ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption." 

3.  Personal  acts  are  ascribed  to  him. 

Instances  of  this  are  very  numerous,  and  it  is  impos- 
sible to  make  any  candid  reader  of  the  Bible  believe 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  is,  in  nearly  every  passage  where 
his  operations  are  referred  to,  spoken  of  otherwise  than 
as  a  personal  agent.  "  Moving,"  "  striving,"  "  quick- 
ening," "  descending,"  "  testifying,"  "  convincing," 
"  interceding,"  and  many  other  actions  that  occur  to 
your  memory,  all  belong  to  a  personal  agent.  Take 
two  passages  for  examples :  Acts  xiii.  2,  4.  "  The 
Holy  Ghost  said  :  Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for 
the  work  whereunto  I  have  called  them.  ...  So  they, 
being  sent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  departed."  Acts  viii. 
39,  in  the  account  of  the  Ethiopian  eunuch's  conver- 
sion, we  read  that  "the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  caught 
away  Philip."  But  especially  his  personal  agency  is 
asserted  in  the  principal  divine  works  of  our  crea- 
tion and  redemption. 

Gen.  i.  2 :  "  In  the  beginning  the  Spirit  of  God 
moved  on  the  face  of  the  waters." 

In  the  incarnation  he  overshadowed  the  Virgin. 

At  our  Lord's  entrance  upon  his  official  w^ork,  the 
Holy  Ghost  visibly  descended  upon  him,  as  he  came 
up  from  his  baptism  by  John,  according  to  the  prophecy 


82  THE  DIVmiTY,  PERSONALITY,      [Lect.  XXIV. 

of  Tsafali  that  "  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  "  would  anoint 
him  as  the  Saviour. 

In  his  death  (Heb.  ix.  14)  he,  "through  the  eternal 
Spirit  offered  himself  without  spot  to  God." 

In  his  resurrection,  he  was  quickened  by  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  (Eph.  i.  20 ;  ii.  1),  and  was  "  declared  to 
be  the  Son  of  God  with  power  according  to  the  Spirit 
of  holiness "  (Rom.  i.  4) ;  see,  also,  1  Peter  iii.  18 ; 

1  Cor.  XV.  45. 

So,  also,  in  the  application  of  the  benefits  purchased 
by  the  Mediator  to  the  souls  of  believers,  which  is 
everywhere  ascribed  to  the  Holy  Ghost. 

In  theb  regeneration  or  quickening  with  a  divine 
life  ;  they  are  born  of  the  Spirit,  and  quickened  by  the 
Spirit,  (John  iii.  3  ;  Ephes.  ii.  1.)  ,  ^r      . 

In  their  adoption :  "  For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God,"  (Rom.  vui. 

14-17.)  ,    , 

In  their  sanctification :    "  Ye  are  washed,  ye   are 

sanctified,  ye  are  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God,"  (1  Cor.  vi.  11.) 
"  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you  ?  "  (iii.  16.) 

In  their  graces :  Faith,  hope,  love,  strength,  comfort, 
assurance,  and  all  the  blessed,  holy  consequences  flow- 
ing from  them,  which  we  know,  without  now  citing 
texts  sufficiently  familiar,  are  all  ascribed  to  the  direct 
agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  are  summed  up  in  the 
apostolical  benediction :  "  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  love  of  God,  and  the  commumon  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you  all;"  "the  communion  of 
the  Holy  Ghost "  there  signifying  participation  in  all 
the  benefits  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  promised  to  and  be- 
stowed upon  all  believers. 


Lect.  XXIV.]      AND  WOKK  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


33 


4.  Lest,  however,  some  might  yet,  though  in  the  face 
of  all  these  proofs  to  the  contrary,  continue  to  assert 
that  these  many  mentions  of  the  Holy  Ghost  refer  only 
to  acts  of  God  the  almighty  Father,  and  do  not  imply 
distinct  personalities  in  the  godhead,  let  us  call  to  our 
minds  several  passages  in  which  such  distinctness  is 
manifest.  Thus,  at  the  unction  of  our  Lord,  (Luke 
iii.  22,)  we  read :  "  And  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  in 
a  bodily  shape  like  a  dove  upon  him,  and  a  voice  came 
from  heaven  which  said :  Thou  art  my  beloved  Son,  in 
thee  I  am  well  pleased."  Here  is  the  Father  speaking 
from  heaven  to  the  Son  on  earth,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
descendintr  from  heaven  on  the  Son. 

Again,  in  the  divinely  prescribed  formula  of  baptism: 
"  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  (the  three  present  at  the  baptism  of 
our  Head.)  Nothing  but  the  extremest  prejudice  could 
bring  one  to  believe  that  these  several  names  belong  to 
only  a  single  person,  and  do  not  intend  three  distinct 
persons  in  the  godhead. 

So  with  the  apostolical  benediction  :  "  The  grace  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  (the  grace  of  his  purchase,)  the 
love  of  God,  (the  Father  representing  the  propitiated 
godhead,)  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  (or 
participation  in  the  energies  of  the  .Holy  Ghost  by 
whom  the  grace  is  applied  to  us,  and  "  the  love  of  God 
shed  abroad  in  our  hearts,")  which  is  according  to  the 
interpretation  given  in  Ephes.  ii.  18 :  "  For  through 
him  (our  Lord  Jesus)  we  have  access  by  one  Spirit 
unto  the  Father." 

Thus  our  Lord  (John  xiv.  16) :  "  I  will  pray  the 
Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Comforter, 
(mark,  not  another  Comfort,  but  another  Comforter, 

s 


-f" 


I 

34  THE  DIVINITY,  PERSONALITY,      [Lkct.  XXTf. 

an  a<rent  like  himself,)  that  he  may  abide  with  yon 
forever."  Again,  26 :  "  The  Comforter  which  is 
the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send  m  my 
nLe  hJshall  teach  yon  all  things  »  Here  is  U.  Son 
asking  the  Father  that  he  would  send  another  pei 

sonal  Comforter.  ... 

We  mi-ht  heap  texts  upon  texts  to  prove  the  distmct 
personality  of  the  How  J&HOST,  but  these  specimens 
of  the  several  classes  of  proofs  are  quite  enough  to 
establish  the  doctrine. 
ni.  His  true  divinUy. 

This  IMS,  in  i-eality,  been  asserted  by  many  ot  the 
texts  cited  under  the  former  heads,  but  is  corroborated 
by  several  classes  of  scriptural  proofs,  some  from  each 
of  which  may  be  added. 

1.  There  are  many  places  where  the  name  of  God 
is  used  interchangeably  with  that  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
or  Spirit  of  God.     Thus :  —  ,        ,   , 

Isaiah  vi.  8,  9,  the  prophet  says :  » I  heard  the  voice 

of  the  Lord  saying Go,  and  tell  this  people 

Hear  ye  indeed  but  understand  not;  and  see  ye  indeed 
but  pi-ceive  not,"  &c.  The  apostje  (Acts  xxvi.k25) 
quoting  this  passage  says:  "Well  spake  the  Holy 
Ghost  by  Esaias  the  prophet  unto  our  fathers,  saying. 
Go  unto  this  people  and  say.  Hearing  ye  shall  hear, 
and  understand  not ;  and  seeing  ye  shall  sec,  and  per- 

ceive  not,"  &c.  «  .1  ^i« 

So  the  Psalmist,  xcv.  8-11,  speaks  of  the  people 
tempting  and  proving  the  Lokd  ;  and  this  is  termed 
by  the  martyr  Stephen  a  resisting  of  the  Holy  Ghos 
(Acts  vii.  51)  :  "  Ye  stiff-necked,  and  uncircumcised 
in  heart  and  ears,  ye  do  always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
as  your  fathers  did  so  do  ye." 


Lkct.  XXIV.]    AND  WORK  OF  THE  HOLT  GHOST. 


as 


Peter,  in  the  condemnation  of  Ananias  (Acts  v.  3, 4), 
says  first :  "  Why  hath  Satan  filled  thy  heart  to  lie  to 
the  Holy  Ghost  ?  "  and  then :  "  Thou  hast  not  lied 
unto  men  but  unto  God." 

In  the  annunciation  by  the  angel  (Luke  i.  35)  :  "  The 
Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee  and  the  power  of  the 
Highest  shall  overshadow  thee ;  therefore  also  that 
holy  thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee,  shall  be  called 
the  Son  of  God." 

The  apostle  Paul  declares,  (2  Tim.  iii.  16,)  "that 
all  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God."  The 
apostle  Peter,  (2  Pet.  i.  21,)  that  "prophecy  came 
not  in  the  old  time  bv  the  will  of  man  ;  but  holv  men 
of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 

2.  Attributes  transcendently  divine  are  given  to  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

The  offices  ascribed  to  him  imply  supreme  perfec- 
tions. For  how  can  he  who  "  searcheth  all  things,  even 
the  deep  things  of  God,"  be  other  than  infinite;  or 
he  who  teacheth  all  things,  otherwise  than  omniscient ; 
or  he  who  dwells  at  one  and  the  same  time  in  all  be- 
lievers, otherwise  than  omnipresent ;  or  he  who  is  the 
author  of  life  and  the  worker  of  all  miracles,  otherw^ise 
than  omnipotent :  or  he  who  was  before  all  things  and 
continueth  in  lieaven  the  sanctifier  of  the  church,  other- 
wise than  eternal  ?  So  we  find  him  denominated  em- 
phatically "  the  eternal  Spirit,"  "  the  Spirit  of  wis- 
dom," "the  Spirit  of  life,"  "the  Spirit  of  power," 
"  the  Spirit  of  glory."  The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 
in  its  doctrinal  portion,  is  wholly  taken  up  with  the 
"mighty  working,"  or  sovereign  operations  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  under  various  appellations  expressive  of  an  all- 
pervading  energy. 


86 


THE  DIVINITY,  PERSONALITY,       [Lkct.  XXIV. 


Lect.  XXIV.]         OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


87 


3.  So  with  the  names  of  Gocl,  which  are  given  to 
him*  as  has  been  shown  in  aforecited  texts  and  many 

others.  t*     i 

4.  And  divine  homage  is  claimed   for  him.      i'aul 
swears  by  him,  or  protests  appeahng  to  him  as  men  do 
to  God  in  a  solemn  oath.     "  I  say  the  truth  ni  Christ, 
I  lie  not,  my  conscience  also  bearing  me  witness  in  the 
Holy  Ghost."      Blasphemy  is  a  term   especially  and 
only  signifying  insult  to  God ;  yet,  as  we  have  seen, 
Wi  agamst  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  worst  kind  of  blas- 
phemy.    The  body  inhabited  by  the  Holy  Ghost  is  a 
temple    of  God,   to    defile   which    is   sin   against   the 
indwelling  divinity.     So  with  the  formula  of  baptism, 
and  the  apostolical  benediction. 

5  The  same  consummated  acts  of  God  are  ascribed 
to  each  of  the  three  divine  persons.  As  the  incar- 
nation  of  Christ,  who  was  sent  of  the  Father,  who 
came,  and  who  was  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  his 
crucifixion  ;  when  "  it  pleased  the  Father  to  bruise 
him ;  **  when  he  "  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  many  ; 
and  "  offered  himself  through  the  eternal  Spirit ; "  his 
resurrection,  when  the  Father  mised  him  up,  he  rose, 
and  was  quickened  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  So  with  the 
correspondent   acts   of  divine   grace    to   believers    in 

In  a  word,  unless  we  deny  the  personality  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  we  have  seen  is  to  deny  the 
Scripture,  he  must  be  considered  a  divine  person,  or 

Secondly  :  The  official  work  of  the  Soly  Ghost ;  or 
the  henefits  conferred  by  his  personal  agency  upon  all 

believers.  ,  i        * 

"  That  he  is  also  given  me  to  make  me  by  a  true 


faith  partaker  of  Christ  and  all  his  benefits ;  that  he 
may  comfort  me,  and  abide  with  me  forever." 

The  operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  distinguished 
by  theologians  as  extraordinary  and  ordinary.  The 
extraordinary  are  his  operations  on  persons  selected  for 
special  ministries  in  the  church,  who,  therefore,  need  to 
be  endowed  with  peculiar  gifts :  as  the  prophets,  lead- 
ers, and  teachers  of  ancient  Israel,  who  were  employed 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  certified  by  divine  proofs,  to 
make  known  the  will  of  God  ;  so,  the  apostle  Peter 
says :  "  The  prophecy  came  not  in  the  old  time  by  the 
will  of  man,  but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost :  "  and  the  apostles  of  the 
New  Testament,  who  were  employed  and  certified  in 
like  manner  to  make  further  revelations  of  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus.  The  compilation  of  their  writings,  or 
such  of  them  as  God  has  seen  fit  to  select,  which  we 
have  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  constitutes  the  word  of 
God  to  us,  —  our  sole  and  supreme  and  sufficient  rule 
of  faith  and  practice.  The  miraculous  powers  of  the 
apostles  and  other  eminent  members  of  the  primitive 
church,  such  as  healing  the  sick,  speaking  with  various 
tongues,  were  the  signs  that  God  was  with  them  in 
their  work  of  establishing  Christianity,  and  are  called 
"o-ifts  of  the  Holv  Ghost."  When  the  canon  of 
Scripture  was  complete,  and  the  church  fairly  estab- 
lished, these  extraordinary  operations  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  ceased,  there  being  no  longer  any  need  of  them. 

The  ordinary  operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  those 
which  he  performs  toward  men  under  the  teaching  of 
the  gospel,  but  especially  towards  Christians.  For, 
although  the  Catechism  here  speaks  only  of  his  work  in 
believers,  (because  it  is  rather  a  catechism  of  Christian 


33  OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST.      [Lect.  XXIV. 

experience  than  one  of  systematic  theology),  there  are 
offices  of  the  Spirit  accompanying  the  truth  toward 
^regenerate   men  :   such   as   causing  them,   in   some 
de^rree,  to  feel  the  force  of  the  truth,  to  see  the  wrong 
of  ""sin,  to  dread  the  wrath  of  God,  and  to  acknowledge 
the  necessity  of  religion.      This  is  called  by  several 
scriptures  "the  striving  of  the  Holy  Ghost"   ("my 
Spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with  men  "),  because  it  is 
exerted  upon  those  who  resist  his  merciful  influences. 
So  the  martyr  Stephen :  "  Ye  stiff-necked  and  uncir- 
enmcised  in  heart  and  ears,  ye  do  always  resist  the 
fMf  Ghost ;  as  your  fathers  did,  so  do  ye  ;  "  and  the 
apostle  Paul,  using  another  figure  :  "  Quench  not  the 
Spirit."     These  operations  in  men  who,  notwithstand- 
incr,  reject  the  gospel,  resemble  those  which  he  directs 
toward  the  elect,  but  differ  in  their  eflect,  the  latter 
being  always  efficient  to  salvation,  the  former  efficient 
ill  greater  condemnation ;  as  the  design  differs,  in  the 
one  class  being  the  full  adoption  of  Christ's  people,  m 
the  other  being  the  vindication  of  the  divine  truth  and 
justice.     Hence  they  are  sometimes  described  as  the 
resistible  and  the  irresistible  graces  of  the  Spirit. 

Our  lesson  confines  us  to  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  those  who  are  saved,  which  is  stated  in  three 
particulars:  1.  A  participation  of  Christ  and  all  his 
benefits.     2.  Religious  comfort.     3.    Eternal  indwell- 


Lect.XXIV.]        of  god,  the  HOLY  GHOST. 


39 


mg. 


is, 


1.  A  participation  of  Christ  and  all  his  benefits. 

The  Holy  Ghost,  as  has  before  been  shown, 
according  to  the  plan  of  redemption,  the  agent  by 
whom  the  purpose  of  the  Father,  and  the  mediatorial 
work  of  the  Son,  are  made  efficient.  Thus,  it  is  the 
purpose  of  the  Father  (representing  the  Godhead)  to 


save ;  the  Son,  by  his  mediatorial  work,  provides  the 
method  of  salvation,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  effects  the 
purpose  of  God  by  the  application  of  the  work  of 
Christ  to  the  sinner. 

a.  The  redemption  proceeds  upon  a  system  of  repre- 
sentation. The  sinner  must  be  covered  by  the  Sav- 
iour's suretyship :  until  he  is  thus  in  Christ,  he  is 
exposed  to  the  wrath  of  God  and  all  its  terrible  evils, 
but  when  in  Christ,  he  enjoys  through  Christ  all  that 
is  necessary  for  everlasting  life,  as  a  member  of  the 
body  of  w^hich  Christ  is  the  head.  Union  to  Christ, 
therefore,  must  be  first ;  the  benefits  of  grace  are  con- 
sequential. So  the  Catechism,  "  The  Holy  Ghost  .  .  . 
is  given  me  to  make  me  by  a  true  faith  partaker  of 
Christ."  Here  the  parallel  between  the  history  of 
Christ  and  that  of  each  of  his  people  is  remarkable. 
Christ  was  conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  life  of 
the  Son  of  God  in  the  flesh  was  begun  by  the  efficient 
action  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  the  life  of  the  Christian  in 
Christ  must  be  begun  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  again,"  said  our  Lord  to  Nico- 

demus,  "  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God 

Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he 
cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  That  which  is 
born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and  that  which  is  born  of  the 
spirit  is  spirit."  Of  course  this  is  figurative  language, 
but  most  expressive.  It  implies  that  a  new  spiritual  or 
moral  or  religious  life  is  given  to  the  soul  which  before 
was  dead  to  all  spiritual  things,  and  that  it  is  given  or 
implanted  by  the  gracious  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
This  act  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is,  therefore,  the  beginning 
of  our  Christian  life.  Before  the  Holy  Ghost  thus  acts 
upon  our  souls,  we  can,  as  regards  spiritual  things, 


t 


I 


i 


40 


OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST.        [Lect.  XXIV. 


Lect.XXIV^]        of  god,  the  HOLY  GHOST. 


41 


know   nothing,  for  we   are   without  perception ;   feel 
nothing,  for  we  are  without  sense  ;  do  nothing,  for  we 
are  without  strength.      Now  the  method  of  imparting 
this  new  life,  which  can  come  only  through  Christ,  and 
be  exercised  only  in  Christ,  is  not  arbitrary,  but  is  by 
bringing  us  to  a  union  with  Christ.     Our  Lord  himself 
compares  it  to  a  grafting  of  a  branch  (living  indeed,  as 
we  all   live  before  regeneration,  but  in  an  evil  life) 
upon   a   good  stem,  which  speedily  sends  through   it 
its  own  better  life.     Christ  is  the  stem,  we  are  the 
branches;    tb©  Holy   Ghost  is   the    ingrafter.      We 
cannot  graft  in  ourselves,  Christ  does  not  graft  us  in, 
but  the  Holy  Ghost,  bringing  us  close  to  Christ,  makes 
us  partakers  of  Christ's  life.     Thus  again,  the  instru- 
ment  of  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  truth  of 
Christ:  '*  Being  born  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed, 
but  of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of  God,  which  liveth 
and  abideth  forever." 

It  may  be  asked  if  there  be  not  a  divine  work  on  the 
soul  itself  necessary  before  the  word  can  have  an  effect, 
inasmuch  as  we  are  utterly  insensible  to  truth  before 
the  new  life  is  given  ?     Doubtless  we  are  so  insensible, 
until  by  the  Spirit  we  are  regenerated ;  but  doubtless, 
also,  the  Holy  Ghost  works  always  as  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  through  whose  merit  alone  the  giving  of  the 
new  life  is  justified;  nay,  the  life  given  is  the  life  of 
Christ ;  Christ's  life  in  us ;  "  Christ  in  us  the  hope  of 
glory  ; "  "  Christ  formed  in  us."   We  may  not  limit  the 
sovereign  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  that  he  does 
sometimes  sanctify  children  from  the  womb,  grafting 
|lhem  into  Christ  before  they  can  understand  the  truth, 
we  should  not  dare  to  deny  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  the 
Holy  Spirit,  with  persons  of  understanding,  ever  and 


only  works  by  the  truth.  He  prepares  the  soil  for  the 
seed,  and  the  seed  for  the  soil ;  but  the  sowing  and  the 
preparation  of  the  soil,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  go  together. 
Nay,  there  is  a  penetrating  fitness  in  the  word  of  God, 
whence  it  is  called  "  the  sword  of  the  Spirit ;  "  and  "  the 
word  of  God  is  quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than 
any  two-edged  sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing 
asunder  of  soul  and  spirit,  and  of  tlie  joints  and  mar- 
row, and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of 
the  heart."  Hence,  also,  the  necessity  of  "  preaching 
the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  for  it  is  when  Christ  is 
lifted  up  that  "  he  draws  men  unto  him  "  by  his  Spirit. 
But  the  sword  must  be  wielded  and  directed  by  the 
almighty  hand  of  the  Spirit.  So  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  ever  precedes  the  conversion  of  sinners.  Then, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  soul  receives  the  gospel,  and  life 
through  the  gospel  by  faith ;  and  faith  is  a  personal  act, 
though  a  gift  of  God.  So  our  Lord :  "  He  that  be- 
lie veth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life ; "  and  again, 
"  He  that  belie  veth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet 
shall  he  live ; "  and  several  scriptures :  "  The  just 
shall  live  by  faith."  Which,  then,  precedes  in  regen- 
eration:  the  quickening  of  the  soul,  in  order  to  its 
faith,  or  the  application  of  the  gospel  to  the  soul  to 
draw  forth  its  faith?  Pardon  me,  my  questioning 
friend,  if  I  say  that  there  is  a  curious  inquisitiveness 
here  that  should  be  checked,  because  the  Scripture  has 
not  explained  the  mystery  to  us.  Contending  theolo- 
gians have  spent  a  world  of  metaphysics  on  this  sub- 
ject in  vain,  except  to  show  the  weakness  of  the  strong- 
est. All  generation  is  a  mystery,  —  life  in  its  begin-  . 
ning  and  its  actings  is  ever  a  mystery.  Why,  then, 
should  we  ask  respecting  spiritual  life,  the  regeneration 


42  ©F  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST.       [Lect.  XXIV. 

of  the  soul,  "  how  can  these  things  be  ?  "  It  is  enough 
for  us  to  know  that  the  Holy  Ghost  alone  regenerates 
the  sinner  by  uniting  him  to  the  life  of  Christ ;  or,  as 
our  Catechism  has  it,  by  making  us  partakers  of  Christ ; 
and  that  the  union  is  effected  by  faith,  which  is  his 
work.  "  He  makes  me,  by  a  true  faith,  partaker  of 
Christ."  For  faith  is  the  first  acting  of  the  new-born 
creature,  even  faith  clinging  to  Christ  and  drawing 
from  him  the  life  he  sends  through  the  soul. 

h  Faith  is  the  bond,  if  I  may  so  speak,  of  the  in- 
crrafting,  and  the  ingrafting  is  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  but  through  faith  also  the  Holy  Ghost  carries 
on  the  work  of  salvation  which  is  by  Christ.  Christ, 
the  stem,  is  the  treasury  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  grace,  and 
in  consequence  of  the  ingrafting,  the  regenerated  soul 
is  made  partaker  of  Christ's  benefits,  that  is,  the  ben- 
efits  which  Christ  has  purchased  and  extends  to  the 

belieW* 

Ghrist  was  not  oaly  conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
but,  also,  when  he  publicly  assumed  his  office  of  our 
representative,  the  Holy  Ghost  came  down  upon  him, 
and  the  voice  of  the  Father  was  heard  from  heaven, 
saying :  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased."     Mark,  he  speaks  not  thus  of  the  Son  in  his 
oricrinal  divinity  alone ;  there  were  no  need  for  such 
testimony ;  but  of  the  Son  incarnate,  as  our  head  and 
dder  brother  and  representative.     He  adopted,  —  or,  if 
joii  life  iwl  the  term,  seeing  that  the  human  nature 
of  our  Lord  was  begotten  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  — he 
acknowledged  the  man  Christ  Jesus  as  his  Son,  with 
the  Son  who  had  been  ever  from  eternity  his  only 

begotten. 

So  the  first  benefit  we  receive  from  our  union  to 


Lect.  XXIV.]  OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


43 


Christ,  is  adoption  of  the  Father,  a  participation  of  the 
sonship  of  Christ.  How  can  it  be  otherwise,  since  the 
believer  is  in  Christ,  the  Son,  than  that  he  must  also 
be  a  son  ?  He  is  made  one  with  Christ,  a  member  of 
his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones,  deriving  from 
Christ  the  same  life  Christ  has,  life  derived  from  his 
sonship  to  God.  Hence  the  Holy  Ghost  in  this  work 
is  styled  "  the  Spirit  of  adoption,"  and  is  said  to  be  "  in 
our  hearts  the  Spirit  of  his  Son,  crying, '  Abba,  Father.' " 
We  are  permitted,  nay,  urged  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
within  us  to  go  to  God,  asking  and  expecting  to  receive, 
as  dear  children,  all  the  blessings  which  God  loves  to 
bestow  upon  Christ  his  Son,  for  those  who  are  sons  in 
him.  Not  only  for  this  life,  but  infinitely  more  for  the 
life  to  come,  may  we  look  for  these  gracious  participa- 
tions with  Christ.  Hear  the  apostle :  "  As  many  as 
are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God. 
For  ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again 
to  fear ;  but  ye  have  received  the  Spirit  of  adoption 
whereby  ye  cry, '  Abba,  Father.'  The  Spirit  itself  bear- 
eth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the  children  of 
God ;  and  if  children,  then  heirs :  heirs  of  God,  and 
joint-heirs  with  Christ ;  if  so  be  that  we  suffer  with 
him,  that  we  may  be  also  glorified  together."  When 
Christ  was  on  earth,  he  obeyed  the  Father  through  all 
temptation  and  suffering,  deriving  strength  from  his 
Father  through  prayer ;  now  that  he  is  in  glory,  he 
lives  in  full  satisfaction  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father. 
So,  beloved  brethren,  if  we  have  the  evidence  of  being 
in  Christ  by  the  power  of  his  Spirit  in  us,  making  us 
obedient  through  all  trial,  and  prayerful  in  a  constant 
dependence  upon  God,  we  have  the  evidence  of  our 
adoption  by  God,  and  the  earnest  of  a  participation  in 


44 


OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST.       [Lect.  XXIT. 


Christ*s  everlasting  joy.  Trial  is  but  an  evidence  of 
our  lef^itimacy,  and  of  our  Father's  faithfulness  educat- 
incr  us  to  go  up  higher  even  to  his  holy  presence  among 
the  ano-els.  But  of  all  the  blessings  of  this  adoption, 
time  would  fail  us  to  speak. 

When  the  Father  acknowledged  our  Lord  to  be  his 
Son,  he  shed  down  npon  him  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and 
this  was  in  accordance  with  the  prophecy  :  "  The  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him,  the  spirit  of  wisdom 
and  understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and  might,  the 
spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord." 
When  that  Spirit  came  down,  it  returned  not  again  but 
rested  .upon  Christ,  entering  as  it  were  into  his  blessed 
person  and  abiding  there,  as  the  animating  spirit  of  all, 
of  eacli  of  bis  members.  These,  then,  are  the  other 
inseparable  benefits  of  union  with  Christ. 

"  The  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding."  So  the 
apostle  prayed  for  his  brethren,  and  for  us,  "  that  the 
God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  glory, 
would  <nve  unto  "  them  "  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  rev- 
elation  in  the  knowledge  of  him,  (Christ,)  the  eyes  of 
"  their'*  understanding  being  enlightened,  that  "  they" 
might  know  what  is  the  hope  of  his  calling,  and  what 
the  riches  of  the  glory  of  his  inheritance  in  the  saints." 
Knowledge  of  divine  truth  in  Christ  is  given  unto  us 
by  participation  with  Christ  the  Word  and  the  wisdom 
of  God,  and  knowledge  which  we  could  not  acquire 
until  gifted  with  new  sight,  or  see  even  with  our  opened 
eyes  unless  it  were  presented  to  us  by  the  Spirit  of 
Christ.  "  He  shall  take,"  said  the  Master  when  prom- 
ising "the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,"  "of 
the  things  of  the  Father  and  shew  them  unto  you." 
Yet  must  this  illumination  come  through  Christ,  for  no 


Lect.  XXIV.]         OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


45 


man  knoweth  the  Son,  but  the  Father,  neither  knoweth 
any  man  the  Father,  save  the  Son  and  he  to  whomso- 
ever the  Son  shall  reveal  him." 

"  The  spirit  of  counsel  and  might."  The  apostle  says 
that  "  the  sons  of  God  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God." 
Not  only  are  they  illuminated  with  all  Christian  doc- 
trine, but  they  are  inspired  with  a  holy  prudence  such 
as  Christ  showed  in  his  life  for  all  their  Christian  con- 
duct. As  the  steps,  not  only  the  way  he  was  to  walk 
in,  but  even  the  steps,  each  step  he  was  to  take,  were 
ordered  by  the  Lord,  so  do  they  who  are  united  to 
Christ,  animated  by  his  spirit  of  sonship,  and  taught  the 
meaning  of  his  word,  hold  sweet  communion  with  him 
by  prayer,  and  receive  "  counsel "  for  all  the  duties 
required  of  them,  whatever  be  their  difficulties  and 
trials.  They  follow  Christ,  nay,  he  walks  with  them, 
"reasoning  with  them  out  of  the  Scriptures  of  all 
things  concerning  himself,"  "  till  their  hearts  burn 
within  them."  Nor  is  it  "  counsel  "  only,  but  "  might." 
The  same  Holy  Spirit  that  upheld  the  humanity  of 
Christ,  while,  walking  according  to  the  divine  coun- 
sel, he  bore  the  burden  of  our  sins  on  toward  his 
cross  where  he  nailed  them  forever,  is  given  to  his 
people,  dwelling  in  them  as  a  power  from  on  high, 
pervading  all  their  faculties,  and,  weak  as  they  are, 
making  them  strong  through  Christ's  strengthening 
them.  So  says  the  apostle  in  that  aforecited  prayer 
for  the  Ephesians,  "  That  ye  may  know  .  .  .  what  is 
the  exceeding  greatness  of  his  power  to  usward  who 
believe,  which  he  wrought  in  Christ  when  he  raised 
him  from  the  dead  and  set  him  at  his  own  right  hand 
in  the  heavenly  places."  The  same  power  that  wrought 
in  Christ,  even  the  Holy  Ghost,  works  in  all  those  who 


<\ 


.  I 


111 


III 


OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST.        [Lect.  XXIV. 


are  members  of  bis  blessed  body,  quickening  tbem  as  be 
was  quickened,  strengtbening  tbem  as  be  was  strength- 
ened,  until,  like  bim,  tbey  are  also  brougbt  safely  and 
triumpbantly  to  sit  witb  bim  in  tbe  beavenly  places.- 
(See  tie  ifinte  connection  tbrougb  tbe  second  chapter 

of  Epbesians.)  n  i     t      i  »» 

"  Tbe  spirit  of  knowledge  and  tbe  fear  of  tbe  Lord. 
Just  in  proportion  as  we  know  tbe  truth,  tbe  hopes  it 
sets  before  us,  and  tbe  honorable  duties  it  reqmres  of 
us,  will  tbe  Sfirit  of  adoption  make  us,  as  Christ  was, 
reverent,  i#iW  Father's  will  and  constant  presence. 
How  shall  tbey  who  are  conscious  of  the  Holy  bpint 
dwellino;  within  them,  pollute  his  temple  !     How  shall 
he,  dweUing  within  tbem,  not  keep  their  thoughts  in 
" a  constant  waiting  for  Christ ?  "     "He  that  saitb  he 
abideth  in  Christ,  ought  himself  so  to  walk  even  as  he 
also  walked;"  and  tbe  rule  of  tbe  Saviour's  life,  as 
declared  by  the  apostle  at  the  Pentecost,  was  to  "  set 
tbe  Lord  alway  before  bis  face."  ^ 

Here,  then,  we  see  that,  from  their  union  with  Christ 
by  tbe  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  believers  enjoy,  with 
tbe  benefits  of  achption,  illumination,  and  strength,  a 
divine  sanetijication  begun  witb  their  new  birth,  carried 
on  tbrougb  all  their  experience  bere,  and  sure  to  be 
made  perfect  where  Christ  is  now  perfect  m  bis  king- 
dom  on  high.     And  all  this  is  tbe  work  of  the  Holy 
Gbost  tbrougb  Christ  and  by  tbe  word  of  Christ ;  for 
the  Holy  Gbost   comes   to  us   only  through   Christ  s 
meritorious  intercession  ;  and  he,  though  he  knows  all 
tbincTs,  knows  no  other  method  of  the  Spirit's  opera- 
liilii  but  through  tbe  gospel.     "  Sanctify  tbem,"  prayed 
be  to  tbe  Father,  as  be  had  promised  bis  disciples  that 
he  would  pray  for  the  Comforter,  — "  sanctify  tbem 


Lect.  XXIV.]        OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


47 


through  thy  truth,  thy  word  is  truth."  Tbe  Spirit  of 
Cbrist  in  tbe  heart,  and  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  the 
word,  unite  to  make  tbe  believer  of  the  truth  perfect 

in  Christ  Jesus. 

Two  points  remain  for  our  handling,  which  shall  be 

brief. 

2.  Religious  comfort. 

"  The  Holy  Gbost  is  given  me  that  be  may  com- 
fort me,"  savs  tbe  believer  in  the  53rd  answer  of  the 
Catechism. 

He  must  have  been  but  a  careless  reader  of  Scrip- 
ture, who  has  not  seen  bow  full  it  is  of  promises  and 
revelations  of  comfort.  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my 
people,  saitb  your  God ;  speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jeru- 
salem ;  "  was  tbe  language  of  prophecy  fulfilled  in  the 
gospel.  And  be  must  have  had  but  little  experience 
of  tbe  Christian  life,  who  does  not  feel  tbe  need  of 
constant  comfort  from  his  Father  in  heaven.  The 
preaching  of  Cbrist  was  almost  altogether  made  up  of 
comfortable  words ;  bis  last  sermon  to  bis  disciples  at 
the  supper  was  of  nothing  else ;  and  his  apostoHc  suc- 
cessors followed  bis  gracious  example.  So  an  eminent 
title  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  "  Tbe  Comforter  "  ;  and, 
although  the  original  term  may  have  other  meanings 
which  we  have  now  no  time  to  look  into.  Comforter  is 
a  true,  and  not  tbe  least  appropriate,  signification. 

The  believer  needs  comfort.  He  is  bere  in  a  state, 
and  under  a  process  of  discipline,  chastened,  and  often 
sorely,  by  the  faithful  band  of  his  wise  Father  ;  a  chas- 
tening often  compared  to  tbe  passing  of  precious  metals 
through  tbe  intense  beat  of  a  refiner's  furnace ;  nay, 
sometimes,  to  crucifixion  itself.  His  Master  was  a  man 
of  sorrows,  and  he  must  drink  of  his  Master's  cup,  and 


II 


II  it 


48 


OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST.        [Lect.  XXIV. 


be  baptized  with  his  Master's  baptism.     Does  he  not 
need  comfort? 

He  has  to  endure  "  the  contradiction  of  sinners  " 
against  Clu'ist  and  himself  as  a  follower  of  Christ.  His 
good  name  impeached,  his  motives  perverted,  his  faith- 
fulness ridiculed  and  denied  ;  yes,  his  life's  life  sworn 
away  by  cruel,  downright  lies,  as  was  Christ's.  He  sees 
the  sins  of  men  against  his  God,  and  "  rivers  of  water 
run  down  his  eyes,  because  men  keep  not  God's  law." 
He  beholds  Christ's  cause  wounded  in  the  house  of  his 
friends  by  the  inconsistencies  of  Christians,  the  teach- 
ings of  error  in  doctrine  and  morals,  until  his  heart 
bleeds  with  anguish.     Does  he  not  need  comfort  ? 

But  most  of  all  he  is  humbled  and  in  agony  because 
of  his  own  sins ;  the  body  of  sin  and  death  about  him, 
the  world  that  lies  in  wickedness  around  him,  and  the 
malicious  tempter  ever  active  in  assailing  or  seducing, 
or  entrapping  him.  His  heart  is  still  at  times  "  an  evil 
heart  of  unbelief,"  at  all  times  "  deceitful  above  all 
things."     Does  he  not  need  comfort  ? 

But  he  has  it  in  Christ,  and  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
through  Christ,  and  our  previous  learning  tells  us  how. 

He  ii  united  to  Christ  by  a  bond  close,  tender,  and 
never  to  be  broken.  Every  form  of  trouble  he  is 
called  to  know,  Christ  passed  through,  except  the  con- 
sciousness of  sin,  and  the  Redeemer  was  sorely  bur- 
dened with  our  imputed  guilt.  The  Saviour  has  united 
him  to  himself.  He  has  Christ's  sympathy.  O  blessed 
thought !  Christ  knows  all  he  suffers,  knows  what  will 
relieve  it,  knows  how  to  turn  it  to  his  profit.  He  has 
Christ's  teachings  —  all  his  faithful  word,  all  his  precious 
promises,  all  his  gracious  directions.  The  Holy  Ghost 
brings  them  to  him,  enables  him  to  read  them,  to  un- 


Lect.  XXIV.]         OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


49 


derstand  them,  to  make  them  his  own.  He  has  Christ's 
strength  to  uphold  him.  The  strong  right  arm  is 
thrown  around  him,  and  in  the  darkest  hour  and 
through  the  deepest  floods  Christ  is  by  his  side,  whis- 
pering in  the  feeble  breathings  of  friend  consoling  his 
friend:  "Fear  not,  I  am  with  thee."  "Let  not  thy 
heart  be  troubled."  "  My  rod  and  my  staff  they  shall 
comfort  thee."  And  all  this  is  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  uniting  him  to  Christ,  his  living,  divine 
glorified  head. 

He  is  adopted  of  the  Father.  By  his  union  to 
Christ,  he  is  a  child  of  him  in  whose  hand  are  all 
things,  who  withholds  from  him  nothing  that  is  for  his 
good,  and  counts  all  things  his,  as  he  sees  he  has  need. 
His  sufferings  are  not  punishments  but  chastenings,  all 
signs  of  a  divine  love  and  of  a  preparation  for  glory. 
So  he  looks  up  beyond  his  troubles,  and  sees  his 
Father's  loving,  pitying  eye,  and  says:  "It  is  well!" 
"  Let  him  do  what  seemeth  him  good ! "  Blessed  be  his 
name  I  Only  let  my  sufferings  make  me  like  him  who 
suffered  for  me ;  and  from  my  cross  take  me,  Lord,  into 
thy  kingdom  I 

He  has  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  and  it  is  the  ear- 
nest of  his  inheritance ;  shedding  by  its  sanctifying  grace 
the  sweet  assurance  of  hope  that  there  is  a  rest  remain- 
ing for  him ;  an  inheritance  where  shall  be  no  more 
sorrow,  nor  pain,  nor  temptation,  because  there  shall 
be  no  more  sin.  This  is  enough  to  turn  his  sorrow  into 
joy,  his  shame  into  glory,  his  prayers  into  thanks. 
"  For  I  reckon,"  says  he,  "  that  the  sorrows  of  this 
present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  to  the 
glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us." 

Nor  is  his  least  comfort  derived  from  that  which  our 


VOL.  II. 


60 


OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST.        [Lect.  XXIV. 


Lect.  XXrV.]       OF  GOD,  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


51 


111 


f'! 


instructor  makes  a  third  particular  of  the  Holy  Spirit's 
blessing :  eternal  indwelling. 

"  The  Holy  Ghost  is  given  me  that  ...  he  may 
abide  with  me  forever."  What  were  he  without  the 
Holy  Ghost  ?  without  his  grace  keeping  him  united  to 
Christ,  shedding  the  boldness  and  reverence  of  the 
adoption  through  his  heart,  opening  to  him  the  sweet 
Scriptures,  and  opening  his  eyes  to  read  them  ;  strength- 
ening his  heart  with  an  eternal  life  that  sends  love 
throbbing  along  all  his  veins  ;  nay,  sanctifying  his  soul 
with  holy  thoughts  and  desires  and  purposes,  the  sure 
presages,  the  actual  foretastes  of  heaven  itself?  What 
were  he,  if  ever  that  Holy  Spirit  were  taken  from  him  ? 
if  he  were  left  to  fall  from  Christ  into  his  blindness 
and  sin  and  death  ? 

But  the  Spirit  will  not  depart.  The  same  faithful 
master  who  promised  the  Comforter,  and  has  sent  him 
according  to  his  promise,  said :  "  He  shall  abide  with 
you  forever."  "I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake 
thee."  As  he  abode  in  Christ,  so  will  he  abide  in  the 
Christian,  until  he  follows  Christ  on  and  on  through 
trial  and  conflict,  down  through  the  dark  valley,  and 
then  into  the  glory. 

Nor  then  will  the  Comforter  depart,  for  heaven  is 
lyi  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Shall  the  Father  delight  in 
his  perfect  children,  shall  the  Son  rejoice  as  he  sees  his 
own  likeness  in  all  his  sanctified  brotherhood,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  who  made  the  Father's  purpose  and  the 
Son's  work  efficient,  not  have  his  peculiar  satisfaction  ? 
No  I  He  shall  abide  with  them,  in  them  forever  ;  for- 
ever opening  new  depths  in  their  glorified  faculties,  and 
filling  them  with  new  revelations  of  God's  infinite 
riches ;  forever  leading  them  to  new  methods  of  happy 


obedience,  and  inspiring  new  strength  for  the  unprece- 
dented privileges  of  service  above ;  forever  transform- 
ing into  a  closer  likeness  to  God,  and  changing  them 
into  the  same  image  from  glory  unto  glory.  Even  as 
they  walk  among  the  trees  of  life,  the  clear  waters  of 
the  river  of  life,  which  are  the  influences  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  shall  flow  sparkling,  deep  and  full  for  their  taste 
and  their  bathing  in  bliss ;  and  ^ as  they  draw  near  to 
cast  their  crowns  at  their  master's  feet,  and  bask  in  the 
radiance  of  the  Father's  love,  as  together  Father  and 
Son  sit  on  the  throne,  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  flow  forth 
in  waters  of  joy  and  holiness  and  peace ;  and  the 
united  Three  receive  his  homage,  his  praises,  and  his 
thanks ! 

O  blessed  are  they  who  know  that  there  is  a  Holy 
Ghost,  thrice  blessed  they  in  whom  he  dwells !  Yea, 
blessed  forever ! 


i 


j 


LECTURE  XXV. 

THE  lOLY  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,  THE  COMUNION 

OF  SAINTS. 


il 


1 


•■;?« 


I. 

I 


Hi 


',i' 


4.1 


I 


'M 


I 


TWENTY-FIKST  LORD'S  DAY. 

THE    HOLY    CATHOLIC    CHURCH,    THE 
COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 

Quest.  LIV.  What  believest  thou  concerning  the  "  Holy  Catholic  Church  " 
of  Christ  f 

Asa.  That  the  Son  of  God,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  world, 
gathers,  defends,  and  preserves  to  himself  by  his  Spirit  and  word,  out 
of  the  whole  human  race,  a  church  chosen  to  everlasting  life,  agreeing 
in  true  faith ;  and  that  I  am,  and  forever  shall  remain,  a  living  member 
thereof. 

Quest.  LV.     What  do  you  understand  by  "  the  Communion  of  Saints  "  f 

Ans.  First,  that  all  and  every  one  who  believes,  being  members  of  Christ, 
are,  in  common,  partakers  of  him,  and  of  all  his  riches  and  gifts ;  sec- 
ondly, that  every  one  must  know  it  to  be  his  duty  readily  and  cheer- 
fully to  employ  his  gifts  for  the  advantage  and  salvation  of  other 
members. 

^HE  history  of  the  Creed,  especially  before  the  close 
-*-  of  the  fourth  century,  is  obscure  ;  but  we  may  be- 
lieve that  the  more  ancient  copies  ended  with  the  arti- 
cle on  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  it  was  evidently  an  en- 
largement of  the  formula  prescribed  for  baptism  :  "  In 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  And,  truly,  as  we  have  discovered  from 
our  previous  studies,  the  true  doctrine  of  God,  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  comprehends  all  that  is  essential 
to  saving  faith.  Subsequently,  to  answer  the  questions 
of  inquirers,  and  to  rebuke  error,  it  became  expedient 
to  add  the  four  other  articles  which  set  forth  the  great 
blessings  consequent  upon  faith  in  God,  Father,  Son, 
and    Holy   Ghost,    viz:    The    establishment    of   the 


56 


THE  HOLY  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,       [Lect.  XXV. 


lect.xxv.]     the  communion  of  saints. 


6T 


church  and  the  communion  of  saints ;  the  forgiveness 
of  sins;  the  resurrection  of  the  body;  and  the  life 
everlasting. 

In  the  most  ancient  copy  we  have  of  the  creed  of 
the  Roman  church,  we  find  neither  "  the  communion 
of  saints,"  nor  "  the  life  everlasting  "  ;  but  "  the  com- 
munion of  saints  "  is,  clearly,  a  further  statement  of 
"  the  church  ";  and  "  the  life  everlasting"  of  "  the  res- 
urrection." In  some  copies,  the  article  on  the  church 
was  placed  at  the  end,  and  "  the  communion  of  saints  " 
was  inserted  last  of  all.  The  epithet  "  catholic,"  after 
*'  holy,"  before  "  church,"  was  also  of  comparatively 
late  date,  not  occurring  in  the  oldest  copy  of  the 
Roman  symbol,  and  having  been  supplied  to  teach  the 
unity  of  the  true  church,  though  divided  into  many 
particular  churches,  all  holding  the  same  faith.  Finally, 
by  general  consent,  the  creed  obtained  its  present 
order,  whicll  h  the  most  proper ;  for  "  the  forgiveness 
of"  our  **  sins  "  is  assured  to  us  on  our  union  to  Christ's 
true  body,  his  church ;  " the  resurrection  of  the  body" 
is  the  fiilness  of  our  personal  adoption,  and  the  heavenly 
"  life  "  which  follows  our  triumph  over  death  and  the 
grave,  is  "  everlasting." 

It  is  also  proper  to  note  a  variation  of  the  creed,  as 
we  have  it  in  the  Catechism  before  us,  from  the  copy 
in  our  communion  service.  There  we  read :  "  I  believe 
in  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  holy  catholic  church,"  etc. 
Here  it  is  :  "I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  believe 
in  the  holy  catholic  church,"  etc.,  —  "I  believe  in " 
being  inserted  before  the  church.  The  form,  as  it  is  in 
the  communion  service,  is  that  of  the  Roman  Breviary 
(where  it  is  styled  "  the  Apostles'  Creed  "),  and  has 
been  adopted,  with  two  exceptions,  by  all  the  Protes- 


tant churches,  especially  by  the  Church  of  England, 
and  the  Presbyterian,  following  the  Westminster  As- 
sembly. The  exceptions  are  the  French  and  the  Dutch 
Reformed  churches.  Both  of  these  insert  the  additional 
"I  believe,"  which  is  after  the  version  of  the  Greek 
church;  but  neither  of  them  have  the  word  "in." 
They  say,  "  I  believe  an  holy  catholic  church."  The 
preposition  "  in  "  seems  to  be  wholly  without  authority, 
not  being  found  in  either  the  Dutch,  German,  or  Latin 
copies  ;  and  its  presence  here  can  be  accounted  for  only 
by  the  criminal  carelessness  of  the  American  translator 
or  editor.  Nay,  it  is  in  direct  contradiction  to  many 
pious  commentators  on  the  creed,  who  solemnly  call 
upon  us  to  mark  the  distinction  between  that  faith 
which  is  in  the  three  adorable  persons  of  the  Godhead, 
and  that  which  simply  recognizes  the  fact  of  the  church 
and  its  covenanted  blessings.*  There  is,  perhaps,  un- 
necessary stress  laid  upon  this  distinction,  but  it  shows 
that  the  interpolation  of  our  transcriber  is  censurable 
and  should  be  removed. 

Let  us  now  learn  the  doctrine  which  we  are  to  re- 
ceive concerning  the  church,  and  this  may  be  opened 
agreeably  to  the  54th  Question  and  Answer  under  the 
several  names  by  which  it  is  described. 

1.  "  The  .  .  .  church."  2.  "  The  holy  .  .  church." 
3.  "  The  holy  catholic  church." 

1.  "  The  church."      Our  word  church  is  probably 

*  Wit8ius  in  foe,  says:  "Had  the  words  run:  *i  believe  in  the  Holy 
Ghott,  the  holy  catholic  church,''  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  connect  the 
words  '  /  believe '  with  '  the  holy  catholic  church,'  so  as  to  suppress  the  par- 
ticle in.  This,  however,  was  necessary;  for  a  faith  is  exercised  with  regard 
to  the  church  in  a  manner  very  different  from  that  in  which  it  is  exercised 
with  regard  to  God.  The  church  is  a  society  of  creatures  in  whom,  whether 
collectively  or  individually,  it  is  criminal  to  repose  the  confidence  of 
faith." 


m 


68 


THE  HOLY  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,       [Lect.  XXV. 


il)l  "' 


first  composed  and  then  contracted  from  two  Greek 
words,  signifying,  The  House  of  the  Lord  (Kvpiov 
oLcos)  ;  but  the  word  which  it  translates  throughout 
the  New  Testament  is  ecclesia  (cKKAT/o-ta),  which  is 
peculiar  to  the  later  Scriptures  ;  and  the  first  use  of  it 
is  in  the  Evangelist  Matthew's  version  of  our  Lord's 
saying  to  Peter :  "  On  this  rock  I  will  build  my 
church  "  (xvi.  18). 

The  Greek  term  was  applied  by  the  Athenians  to 
signify  an  assembly  of  citizens  (not  the  fifteenth  part 
of  the  population)  called  out  of  the  mass  for  civil  func- 
tions by  the  herald  or  official  crier.  So  the  gospel  is 
said  to  be  proclaimed  as  by  heralds  sent  of  God,  (jopvtr- 
o-eiv,  to  preach,)  Jesus  himself  being  the  first  (Matt, 
viii.  17).  Those  who  are  truly  chosen  of  God  hear 
and  obey  the  heavenly  voice,  ("  Every  one '  that  is  of 
the  truth  heareth  my  voice,"  John  xviii.  37;)  sepa- 
rating themselves  from  the  world  unto  citizenship  of 
the  divine  commonwealth  or  kingdom  ;  and  hence  are 
denominated  eclect^  or,  as  we  take  the  term  from  the 
Latin,  electa  that  is,  called  out,  selected  from  the  rest  of 
the  world.  Thus  we  read,  (Rev.  xvii.  14,)  "  They 
that  lii  with  him  (the  Lamb)  are  called  (j(\rrroC), 
chosen  (IkkXcktoI),  and  faithful."  They  were  more  than 
*♦  called,"  they  were  eclected.  It  is  to  this  eclection  of 
citizens  that  the  apostle  alludes,  when,  speaking  of  the 
Gentile  believers,  who,  when  "  without  Christ,"  were 
••  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  (TroXtTctas,  citizenship) 
of  Israel,"  he  says :  "  Christ  Jesus  .  .  .  came  and 
preached  peace  to  you  which  were  afar  off,  and  to  them 
that  are  nigh.  .  .  .  Now,  therefore,  ye  are  no  more 
strangers  and  foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  of  the  saints 
and  of  the  household  of  God  (oiKuoi  rot  ^cov),  (Ephes. 


It 


Lect.  XXV.J        THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 


59 


ii.  11-19).  They  had  now  a  right  to  enter  the  assem- 
bly (^iKKkyja-La)  or  church.  So  our  Catechism  bids  us 
say :  "  That  the  Son  of  God  .  .  gathers  .  .  to  him- 
self by  his  Spirit  and  his  word,  out  of  the  whole 
human  race,  a  church  chosen  to  everlasting  life."  All 
who  are  effectually  called  (that  is,  by  the  Spirit  in  their 
hearts,  as  well  as  by  the  word  in  their  ears),  and  so 
obey  the  gospel  as  to  separate  themselves  from  the 
world  unto  God  through  Christ,  belong  to  his  church, 
which  in  several  scriptures  is,  as  you  know,  termed 
"  his  body,"  —  that  is,  a  body  of  which  he  is  the  head. 
It  is  evident  that  the  bond  of  this  citizenship,  the  cor- 
porating  principle  uniting  each  to  Christ,  and  all  to 
each  other,  must  he  faith,  as  the  Catechism  has  it:  "A 
church  .  .  agreeing  in  true  faith."  They  are  "  called  " 
by  the  gospel,  which  is  a  proclamation  of  pardon  and 
grace  through  Jesus  Christ ;  it  is  because  they  are  '*  of 
the  truth  "  that  they  hear  and  obey  the  divine  call ; 
and,  when  brought  into  the  (cKKXctrta)  church,  they  are 
ruled  and  established  by  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 
Thus  the  apostle  in  the  aforecited  chapter  of  Ephe- 
sians  :  "  Ye  are  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of 
the  household  of  God ;  and  are  built  upon  the  founda- 
tion of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  (that  is,  the  truth 
they  testified  to,)  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief 
corner-stone."  So,  also,  (1  Cor.  i.  2,  3,)  the  apostle 
offers  Christian  salutation  to  "  the  church  of  God  which 
is  at  Corinth,  to  them  that  are  sanctified  in  Christ 
Jesus,  called  to  be  saints,  with  all  that  in  every  place  call 
upon  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  both  theirs 
and  ours."  All  who  acknowledge  Christ  as  their  Lord 
(which  no  one  can  truly  do  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  1 
Cor.  xii.  3),  and  profess  his  doctrine  as  delivered  by 


M 


i 


60 


THE  HOLY  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,      [Lkct.  XXV. 


Lbct.  XXV.]         THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 


61 


the  apostles  and  prophets,  belong  to,  and  are  united  in, 
the  church  of  Christ.  Nor  may  we  confine  this 
church  to  those  who  have  believed  since  the  advent 
of  Christ.  The  gospel  had  been  declared,  imper- 
fectly indeed,  but  with  increasing  hght  ever  since 
the  fall,  when  the  first  promise,  that  of  "  the  seed  of 
the  woman,"  was  given  ;  it  was  the  "  Spirit  "  of  Christ 
which  in  Noah  "  preached"  to  the  antediluvian  sinners 
•*  while  the  ark  was  a-preparing  "  (compare  1  Pet.  iii. 
13, 14,  and  2  Pet.  ii.  5).  The  apostle  (Gal.  iii.  8,  17) 
says  expressly  that  the  gospel  was  preached  unto  Abra- 
ham "  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  "  before  the  law ; 
the  design  of  both  the  epistle  to  the  Galatians  and  that 
to  the  Hebrews  is  to  show  that  the  gospel  was  couched 
in  all  the  ceremonies  of  the  Levitical  law.  Jesus,  our 
master,  during  his  memorable  walk  with  the  two  disci- 
ples to  Emmaus,  "  beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the 
prophets,  expounded  unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures, 
the  things  concerning  himself; "  and  the  writer  to  the 
Hebrews,  in  his  eleventh  chapter,  combines  in  a  com- 
mon, justifying  faith  all  who  believed  those  revelations 
of  eternal  life  by  a  salvation  promised.  Hence  were 
they  of  the  Old  Testament  united  by  faith  in  the  same 
doctrine  with  those  of  the  New,  as  members  of  the  true 
church.  So  our  Catechism :  "  The  Son  of  God  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  world  gathers  .  .  to  himself 
by  his  Spirit  and  word  out  of  the  whole  human  race,  a 
church  chosen  to  everlasting  hfe,  agreeing  in  true  faith." 
You  will  have  observed  that  this  church  is  an  assem- 
bly, a  citizenship  of  believers,  of  whom  Christ  is  the 
head,  and  that  the  bond  of  their  union  is  the  personal 
faith  of  each  member  in  Christ ;  so  that  the  pretensions 
of  the  papists,  and  of  kindred  sectaries,  who  place  the 


church  in  the  clergy  or  other  ecclesiastical  officers,  are 
most  preposterous.  Were  there  no  clergy  on  earth, 
there  would  not  be  less  a  true  church  of  all  who  believe 
in  Christ. 

2.  "The  holy  .  .  church."     Holy  has  two   senses 
not  inconsistent  with  each  other :  one,  that  of  freedom 
from,  or  of  superiority  to,  moral  evil,  —  as  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  the  other,  that  of  being  set  apart  to  God  and 
his  service,  as  were  the  vessels  of  the  temple,  the  tem- 
ple itself,  and  the  whole  nation  of  Israel.     When  a 
moral  creature  sets  himself  apart  to  the  divine  service, 
he  becomes  morally  holy  in  the  degree  that  he  is  con- 
sistent with  the  dedication.      So  God  says  to  us  :  "  Be 
ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy."     Saint  or  sanctified  is  synon- 
ymous with  holy,  being  the  Latin  form  of  the  word. 
Thus  our  Lord  says :  "  For  their  sakes  I  sanctify  my- 
self (i.  e,  dedicate  myself  to  God  in  my  atoning  work), 
that  they  also  might  be   sanctified  (i,  e,  set  apart  to 
God's  service)  through  the  truth."     And  the  apostle 
speaks  of  those  that  are  "  sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus, 
called  to  be  saints.''     It  is  in  this  latter  sense  that  the 
church  of  God  is  holy ;  it  is  sanctified  or  set  apart,  and 
belongs  to  God  in  Christ.     The  church  is  Christ's  own ; 
by  his  choice,  by  his  purchase,  by  his  calling,  by  his 
sealing  to  his  service  :  "  Who  gave  himself  for  us  that 
he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquities,  and  purify  unto 
himself  a  peculiar  people  (a  people  his  own),  zealous 
of  good  works."     The  church  and  each  member  of  it 
is  set  apart  to  the  service  of  the  divine  glory  in  Christ, 
and    all   his  gracious   operations   toward  and  in  the 
church,  and  each  believer,  are  for  that  supreme  end. 
So  the  Catechism :  «  The  Son  of  God,  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end  of  the  world,  gathers,  defends,  and  pre- 


62 


THE  HOLT  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,     [Lect.  XXV- 


serves  to  himself  by  his  Spirit  and  word,  out  of  the 
whole  human  race,  a  church  chosen  to  everlasting  life, 
agreeing  in  true  faith."  The  truth,  faith  in  which  is 
the  bond  of  its  union,  is  the  means  of  its  sanctification ; 
whence,  also,  true  faith  is,  from  its  very  nature,  fruitful 
of  holy  living ;  and  no  one,  who  does  not  sanctify  him- 
self to  the  service  of  God  in  Christ,  has  evidence  that 
he  belongs  to  his  holy  church. 

Because  of  this  eclection  or  grafting  into  Christ,  the 
church  is  holy  before  God.     Not  that  every  or  any 
member  of  it  is  pure  and  blameless  in  his  own  charac- 
ter, (for  even  Paul,  after  he  had  been  long  an  apostle, 
confessed  himself  "  chief  of  sinners,")  but  because  the 
believer  is  washed  from  the  guilt  of  his  sins  by  the 
blood  of  Christ,  and  is  so  covered  by  the  righteousness 
of  Christ,  his  infinite  surety,  that  God  is  well  pleased 
with  him  for  Christ's  sake ;  as  the  apostle  says  :  "  Be- 
ing justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through 
ou*r  Lord  Jesus  Christ "  ;  and  "  There  is  now  no  con- 
demnation to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  walk 
not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  spirit."     Thus  to  sanc- 
tify the  church  was  the  purpose  of  Christ's  atonement. 
"  Christ  also  loved  the  church  and  gave  himself  for  it ; 
that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing 
of  the  word  (i.  e.  the  application  of  the  gospel)  ;  that 
}m  might  present  it  to  himself,  a  glorious  church  not 
having  spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing  ;  but  that  it 
should  be  holy  and  without  blemish."     As  the  individ- 
ual believer  is  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus  from  the  impu- 
tation of  Christ's  righteousness,  so  is  the  entire  church. 
There  is,  besides,  a  real  or  actual  sanctification  of 
the  church  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is 
the  seal  of  its  union  with  Christ.     The  sinner,  on  be- 


I 


ffi'iBwiri g'jg 


Lect.  XXV.]        THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 


63 


coming  by  faith  a  member  of  Christ's  body,  is  sepa- 
rated from  sinners  not  only  in  form  but  in  principles 
of  life.      He  has  a  "  new  heart "  given  to  him,  and  a 
"  right  spirit  "  put  within  him.     The  Holy  Spirit,  hav- 
ing thus  begun  his  moral  transformation,  carries  it  on 
surely,  though   gradually,  to  perfection,  enlightening 
his  mind  with  the  truth,  sweetly  constraining  him  by 
the  love  of  God  to  obey  the  truth,  strengthening  him 
against  temptation,  and  comforting  him  under  all  afflic- 
tions through  the  truth ;  so  that,  at  the  great  coming 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  he  is  sanctified  *'  wholly,  body,  soul, 
and  spirit."      What  is  true  of  the  individual  members 
is  true  of  the  whole  church.      "  Christ  also  loved  the 
church  and  gave  himself  for  it ;  that  he  might  sanctify 
and  cleanse  with  the  washing  of  water  bv  the  word, 
that  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious  church, 
not  having  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing  ;  but  that 
it  should  be  holy,  and  without  blemish."  —  Ephes.  v. 
25-27. 

The  church,  thus  chosen  and  called  of  God  in  Christ, 
sanctified  and  upheld  by  God  in  Christ,  is  forever  safe 
with  God  in  Christ,  ordained  unto  everlasting  life.  So 
the  Catechism :  "  The  Son  of  God  .  .  gathers,  de- 
fends, and  preserves  unto  himself  .  .  a  church,  chosen 
to  everlasting  life." 

3.  "  The  holy  catholic  church."  Catholic  is  not  a 
scriptural  word,  though,  after  a  time,  much  used  by 
ecclesiastical  writers.  It  is  compounded  of  two  Greek 
words,  signifying  through  all;  and,  among  the  few 
classics  who  employ  it,  has  the  exact  sense  of  universal. 
After  the  Pentecost,  we  find  all  the  "  called  of  God" 
then  living,  assembled  at  Jerusalem.  This  company 
of  believers,  baptized  and  communicating  in  the  break- 


64 


THE  HOLY  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,       [Lect.  XXV. 


Lect.  XXV.]        THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 


65 


I 


ing  of  bread,  was  then  the  Christian  church.     But,  as 
the  gospel  spread  itself,  and  believers  became  not  only 
very  numerous  but  widely  separated,  it  was  necessary 
for  Christians  to  organize  themselves  in  smaller  compa- 
nies ;  whence,  it  is  easy  to  see,  the  name  of  churches 
was  given  to  such  families  of  the  faith :  as  the  church 
at  or  of  Antioch,  Rome,  Corinth,  Ephesus,  Thessalon- 
ica.      These   several   churches,  subject  to  one  divine 
head,  and  to  the  apostles  appointed  by  him,  holding  the 
same  faith,  and  observing  the  same  sacraments,  and 
maintaining  the  same  discipline,  were  otherwise  inde- 
pendent, so  far  as  authority  was  concerned,  of  each 
Olber,  except  as  they  were  brought  under  the  direction 
of  a  "  presbytery"  or  combination  of  elders,  distinct 
traces  of  which  are  discoverable  in  the  apostolical  writ- 
ings.    Where  there  was  need  of  more  general  consul- 
tation respecting  some  mooted  point,  a  council  was 
called ;  but  the  purpose  of  such  council  was  specific, 
and  its  organization  temporary. 

However  convenient,  or,  if  you  will,  necessary,  for 

greater  usefulness  such  combinations  as  general  synods, 

or  general  assemblies,  or  dioceses  may  be,  they  are 

merely  conventional  arrangements,  such  as  the  word  of 

God  leaves  Christians  to  form  as  most  expedient  in  the 

various  exigencies  that  arise.      The  New  Testament 

recognizes  nothing  but   a  church  and  a  presbytery. 

There  was,  however,  a  vital  bond  uniting  all  true 

Christians  and  all  minor  churches,  viz :    ^' faith  in  the 

common  doctrine  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,''       The 

church  was  not  divided,  but  remained  one  body  of 

Christ,  though  of  many  members.      Hence  the  gradual 

adoption  of  a  common  symbol,  or  creed,  or  beUef,  by 

tiaailtuiil  ickiftwledgment  of  which  professing  Chris- 


tians  might  recognize  each  other  throughout  the  world, 
however  separated  under  their  particular  organizations. 
This  creed  set  forth  the  main  and  essential  doctrine  of 
God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  as  declared  to  the 
church   for  salvation,  but  touched  no  matters  about 
which  Christians  might,  without  fatal  error,  hold  vari- 
ous opinions.      The  devil,  however,  soon  was  busy  in 
distracting  the  church,  and,  under  pretence  of  superior 
purity,  excited  harsh  and  pragmatical  spirits  to  with- 
hold  Christian   communion  from   those  who,  though 
holding  the  great  articles  of  the  faith,  differed  from 
them  in  less  important  particulars.     This  was  especially 
the  case  with  the  Donatists,  a  body  of  Christians  in 
Africa,  who,  it  is  said   (though  too   much  credence 
should  not  be  allowed  to  historians  of  the  period),  con- 
ceiving themselves  to  be  wronged  in  some  matter  of 
church  government,  withdrew  themselves  from  fellow- 
ship with  their  opponents.     This  schism  occurred  in  the 
earlier  part  of  the  fourth  century,  and  it  is  thought  that 
about  the  same  time  the  word  "  catholic  "  was  inserted 
after  "  holy  "  and  before  "  church."     The  object  of  the 
interpolation   was   not,  therefore,  to  set  up  exclusive 
claims  for  any  particular  sect  or  body  of  Christians, 
however  numerous  or  powerful,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
as  the  word  itself  shows,  to  repudiate  and  oppose  such 
bigotry  by  acknowledging  all  who  receive  the  doctrine 
set  forth  in  the  Creed  after  the  word  of  God  as  true 
members  of  the  one  church  of  Christ.     The  very  cor- 
rupt, if  not  utterly  spurious.  Church  of  Rome,  grasping 
afler  dominion  over  all  Christendom,  has  usurped  this 
epithet  of  "  cathoHc,"  and  denounces  all  who  deny  her 
impious  pretensions  as  in  damnable  schism  from  the 
body  of  Christ.     On  this.  Seeker,  Archbishop  of  Can- 


VOL.  II. 


66 


THE  HOLY  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,       [Lect.  XXV. 


-I  ' 


'If! 


terbury,  admirably  observes  :  "It  is  no  more  than  as  if 
one  diseased  limb,  perhaps  the  larger  for  being  diseased, 
can  be  the  whole  body  of  a  man  ;  and  by  attempting 
to  exclude  us,  they  take  the  direct   way  to  exclude 
themselves ;  unless  God  impute  their  uncharitable  way 
of  thinking  and  acting,  as  we  hope  he  will,  to  excusa- 
ble ignorance  and  mistake.      The  Church  of  England 
pretends  not  to  be  the  whole  catholic  church,  but  is 
undoubtedly  a  sound  member  of  it ;  so  that  we  have 
much   better  ground  to   call  ourselves  catholics  than 
they,  were  such  names  worth  disputing  about,  which 
they  are  not."     I  quote  these  words  of  that  eminent 
dignitary  of  the  Episcopal  church,  to  show  that  the  ex- 
clusive pretensions,  which  have  been  and  are  daily  so 
axrogantly  flaunted  in  our  faces  by  other  members  of 
Ms  seel,  make  no  part  of  their  own  church  doctrines, 
but  are  as  widely  different  from  the  Christian  senti- 
ments of  not  a  few  of  its  most  distinguished  doctors, 
as  they  are  from  true  charity  and  religious  decency. 
The  true  catholic  acknowledges  all  who  acknowledge 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  to  be,  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Father,  and  the  grace  of  the  divine  Spirit, 
their  only  Lord  and  Saviour.     They  who  make  the 
church  more  narrow  than  this,  practically  disown  this 
article  of  the  Creed.     They  have  no  right  to  repeat  it ; 
but  utter  an  untruth  when  they  do  so.     Nay,  they  ex- 
dude  themselves  from  the  catholic  church  and  from 
the  communion  of  saints,  as  a  branch,  torn  from  the 
main  stem,  becomes  not  the  tree,  but  only  is  separated 
from  the  life  by  which  all  the  branches  live. 

Beware,  therefore,  I  charge  you,  before  God  and  his 
Christ  who  is  Lord  of  all,  how  you  allow  your  sectarian 
pride  to  go  so  far  as  to  disown  any  of  Christ's  true 


Lect.  XXV.]         THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 


67 


flock.  The  Scriptures,  as  we  have  seen,  plainly  teach 
that  all  who,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  believe 
in  Jesus  Christ  for  the  saving  of  their  souls,  and  prove 
the  sincerity  of  their  faith  by  Christian  practice,  are 
members  of  his  living  body.  They  are  as  free  from 
insisting  upon  entire  conformity  of  doctrine  and  prac- 
tice to  be  essential,  but  on  the  contrary  enjoin  the  ut- 
most charity  and  forbearance.  The  apostle  Paul  has  a 
passage  directly  in  point  when  (Rom.  xiv.  1-18),  speak- 
ing of  some  sharp  contentions  about  matters  quite  as  se- 
rious as  some  that  divide  Christians  nowadays,  he  says  : 
"  Him  that  is  weak  in  the  faith,  receive  ye,  but  not  to 
doubtful  disputations.  For  one  believeth  that  he  may 
eat  all  things ;  another,  who  is  weak,  eateth  herbs.  Let 
not  him  that  eateth  despise  liim  that  eateth  not ;  and 
let  not  him  which  eateth  not  judge  him  that  eateth ;  for 
God  hath  received  him.  Who  art  thou  that  judges t 
another  man's  servant  ?  To  his  own  master  he  standeth 
or  falleth.  Yea,  he  shall  be  holden  up,  for  God  is  able 
to  make  him  stand.  .  .  But  why  dost  thou  judge  thy 
brother  ?  or  w^hy  dost  thou  set  at  nought  thy  brother  ? 
For  we  shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  of 
Christ.  For  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and 
drink,  but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.  For  he  that  in  these  things  serveth  Christ,  is 
acceptable  to  God  and  approved  of  men."  Therefore, 
(let  me  quote  again  from  Archbishop  Seeker,)  "  Christ's 
church  is  the  whole  number  of  those  who  believe  on 
him.  How  much  soever  they  may  differ  in  some  opin- 
ions or  practices,  yet  are  they  one  in  all  things  essential. 
How  wide  soever  they  may  be  dispersed  throughout  the 
world,  they  shall  at  last  be  gathered  unto  him.  We 
can  only  judge  according  to  appearances,  and,  there- 


^1 


i 


^ 


68 


THE  HOLY  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,      [Lect.  XXV. 


fore,  to  us,  all  must  be  members  of  Christ's  church 
who  make  n  visible  profession  of  being  Christians.  But 
God  sees  every  secret  thought,  and,  in  his  eye,  they 
alone  belong  truly  to  his  church  who  serve  him  "  in 
the  hidden  man  of  the  heart,  "  that  inward  sincerity  to 
human  eye  invisible." 

Happy,  unspeakably  happy,  is  he  who  can  adopt  with 
humble  confidence  the  words  of  our  Catechism,  and 
say,  "  I  believe  that  I  am,  and  forever  shall  remain,  a 
living  member  of"  Christ's  "  holy,  catholic  church  !  " 

You  will  have  observed  that  throughout  this  discus- 
sion we   have   considered  the  church  in  its  spiritual 
character,  not  as  to  the  external  or  visible  form  of  it ; 
because  such  is  the  doctrine  of  the  article.     But  it 
must  not  be  overlooked,  that  God  has  required  every 
believer  in  Christ's  name  to  confess  him  before  men, 
Wcl  aU  Christians   to   separate   themselves  from   the 
world,  and,  hence,  to  constitute  a  visible  body  or  kmg- 
dom  of  his  servants  for  the  publication  of  his  truth,  the 
celebration  of  his  worship,  and  the  performance  of  his 
commands.     And  as  visible  signs  or  rites  are  neces- 
sary for  the  outward  manifestation  of  this  church,  he 
has  appointed  two  sacraments :  one,  initiatory  baptism, 
by  which  we  are  to  declare  ourselves,  and  be  received 
as  members  of  the  church  ;  the  other,  confirmatory, 
the  Lord's  Supper,  by  which  we  are  strengthened  in 
the  doctrines  we  profess,  and  which  that   sacrament 
sets  forth.     None,  therefore,  who  do  not  unite  them- 
selves to  the  visible  church  have  a  right  to  be  consid- 
ered members  of  the  church  spiritual.     Baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper  are  the  divinely  appointed  methods 
of  making  such  open  profession  ;  and,  therefore,  none 


Lect.  XXV.]        THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 


69 


who  refuse  to  receive  those  sacraments  act  in  conform- 
ity to  Christ's  requirements,  or  can  be  acknowledged 
as  faithful  Christians  ;  though  this  must  not  be  carried 
so  far  as  to  exclude  those  who  have  no  opportunity  of 
compliance,  or  even  those  who  through  ignorance  (as 
the  Society  of  Friends)  consider  the  inner  baptism  of 
the  Spirit  and  edification  through  the  truth,  which  the 
sacraments  represent,  to  be  all  that  is  necessary.  This 
last  is  a  very  grave  error,  but  we  would  fain  hope  not 
sufficient  to  obviate  the  christianizing  power  of  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus. 

These  sacraments  are,  however,  not  in  themselves  of 
saving  efficacy,  and  are  of  no  value  ;  nay,  they  become 
gross  insults  to  God,  except  as  they  are  the  outward 
signs  of  inward  grace. 

The  Lord  Jesus,  also,  for  wise  purposes,  ordained 
that  certain  men  should  be  set  apart  for  the  public  ser- 
vice of  the  church,  in  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  the 
administration  of  the  sacraments,  the  maintenance  of 
discipline,  the  disposition  of  charity,  and  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Lord's  house. 

These  offices  are  necessary  for  a  church  after  the 
apostolic  order ;  but  Christians  have  differed  as  to  the 
mode  and  details  of  the  ecclesiastical  system  most 
accordant  with  the  word  of  God  ;  and  especially  three 
kinds  of  government  have  had  their  strenuous  advo- 
cates, viz :  The  democratical  or  Congregationalist,  the 
monarchical  or  the  Episcopalian,  and  the  republican- 
representative,  or  the  Presbyterian.  This  last,  our. 
church,  in  common  with  the  larger  portion  of  the 
reformed  churches,  holds  to  be  the  most  scriptural; 
but,  while  we  believe  th^t  Presbyterianism  is  necessary 
to  the  perfection  of  a  church,  we  should  not  think  it 


I 


THE  HOLY  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,       [Lect.  XXV. 

essential  to  the  existence  of  a  church,  and  cheerfully 
accord  our  Christian  fellowship  to  all  churches  profess- 
ing the  main  doctrines  of  Christian  faith,  notwithstand- 
ing their  differing  from  us  on  some  points  of  external 
iwrder.    "  Such,  indeed,  as  obstinately  deny  the  funda- 
mental  doctrines,  or  transgress  the  fundamental   pre- 
cepts of  Christianity,  ought  to  be  rejected  from  Chris- 
tian   communion.      But   to   renounce    communicating 
with  any  others  who  are  willing  to  admit  us  on  lawful 
terms,  is  the  way  to  cut  off  ourselves,  not  them,  from 
the  body  of  Christ,  who  yet,  we  doubt  not,  will  allow 
those   on   both   sides   to   belong  to  his   church,  who 
through  pardonable  passions  or  mistakes  will  not  allow 
one  another  to  do  so."  *     Indifference  is  a  great  sin, 
but  "  charity  is  the  bond  of  perfectness.'* 

SECOND    PART. 

As  the  perfection  of  holy  obedience  is  love,  and  as 
it  is  the  purpose  of  God  that  all  his  ransomed  people 
shall  be  brought  into  a  full  and  active  harmony  amidst 
the  glory  of  heaven,  we  must  look  to  see  the  recovery 
begun  on  earth.  Hence  we  beheve  in  "  the  communion 
of  saints,''  2l  cordial  acknowledgment  of  which  is  es- 
maiiaX  to  the  creed  and  character  of  a  Christian.  This 
IS  not  a  separate  article,  but  supplementary  to  the 
statement  respecting  "  the  holy  Catholic  church,"  and 
has  already  been  somewhat  treated  of  under  those 
terms  ;  yet,  is  brought  before  us  more  specially  by  the 
55th  Question  and  Answer,  which  bid  us  say, 

"  First :  That  all  and  every  one,  who  believe,  being 
members  of  Christ,  are  in  common  partakers  of  him 
and  of  all  his  riches  and  gifts.* 

•  Seeker. 


Lkct.  XXV.]        THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 


71 


"  Secondly :  That  every  one  must  know  it  to  be  his 
duty  readily  and  cheerfully  to  employ  his  gifts  for  the 
advantage  and  salvation  of  other  members." 

I.  What  constitutes  "  the  communion  of  saints  ?  " 

We  have  already  defined  "  saints  "  to  be  those  set 
apart  to  the  service  of  the  divine  glory  in  Christ  Jesus. 
They  were  all  by  nature  sinners,  guilty,  corrupt,  and 
blind,  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  "  ;  therefore  equally 
and  wholly  dependent  upon  the  grace  of  God  for  salva- 
tion. But  they  are  each,  by  the  same  method  of  faith, 
united  to  Christ,  that  according  to  the  blessed  purpose 
of  God  they  might  receive  from  him  through  Christ  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  all  the  pardon,  adoption,  and  sanctifica- 
tion  necessary  for  their  complete  redemption.  Hence, 
as  their  natural  ruin  was  the  same,  their  saving  benefits 
are  the  same,  which  last  is  their  "  communion,"  because 
the  grace  is  participated  in  by  each  and  all  of  them. 
They  must  be  saved  by  the  same  methods  and  the  same 
blessings.  Called  by  the  same  heavenly  voice,  when 
they  meet  at  the  cross  and  at  the  throne  of  grace,  each 
recognizes  in  each  a  counterpart  of  himself,  having  the 
same  faith,  the  same  needs,  the  same  duties,  the  same 
temptations,  and  the  same  hopes.  United  to  Christ, 
they  are  united  in  him  to  each  other,  with  the  same 
interests  and  sentiments  and  experience. 

This  is  illustrated  in  the  Scriptures  by  several  strik- 
ing figures.  They  are  a  flock  led  by  one  good  Shep- 
herd, into  the  same  green  pastures,  beside  the  same  still 
waters,  and  are  to  be  gathered  at  last  within  the  same 
heavenly  fold.  They  are  as  "  living  stones  "  built  up 
on  the  same  foundation  of  Christian  tinith,  "  growing  " 
unto  a  perfect  and  holy  temple  of  God  "  by  his  Spirit"; 
strengthened  by  the  same  strength  and  made  glorious 


fill 


72 


THE  HOLT  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,     [Lect.  XXV. 


Lect.  XXV.]         THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 


78 


m 


by  the  same  gloiy.  They  are  a  family,  begotten  by 
the  same  divine  energy  in  the  same  likeness,  fed  at  the 
same  table,  sheltered  by  the  same  covenant,  employed 
in  the  same  duties,  and  heirs  of  the  same  inheritance, 
destined  to  the  same  eternal  home,  their  heavenly 
Father's  house.  But  the  most  instructive  figure  of 
all  is  the  comparison  of  the  church  to  a  living  "  body," 
having  "  many  members,"  all  believers  of  the  gospel, 
and  one  head,  Christ.  This  body  is  not  merely  com- 
posed but  organized,  the  members  being  "  fitly  joined 
together,"  having  a  common  life,  a  common  feeling, 
and  a  common  growth  unto  a  "  fulness  of  stature,"  so 
that,  if  "  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  suffer 
ifiil  it,  or  one  member  be  honored,  all  the  members 
rejoice  with  it." 

And,  in  order  to  keep  this  great  and  delightful  fact 
constantly  before  us,  the  Holy  Ghost  confirms  and  reit- 
erates it  every  time  we  celebrate  the  feast  of  love, 
which  Christ  ordained  as  the  peculiar  emblem  of  his 
church.  The  sacrament  of  the  supper  is  "the  com- 
munion of  the  body  of  Christ."  Surrounding  one 
table,  eating  of  the  same  bread,  drinking  of  the  same 
cup,  we  receive  one  Christ  into  our  souls  and  are  re- 
ceived into  his  body.  United  to  him,  we  are  united  to 
each  other.  We  cannot  be  separated  unless  separated 
from  him.  So  that,  though  each  believes  for  himself, 
he  must  be  socially,  as  well  as  individually,  a  Christian. 
We  are  "members  one  of  another."  The  fellowship 
is  vital  to  each  as  to  the  whole.  The  life  from  Christ, 
which  we  feel  in  our  own  hearts,  is  the  life  of  all 
believers. 

So,  also,  in  the  apostolical  benediction  we  hear  "  the 
communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost "  added  to  "  the  grace 


of  Christ  and  the  love  of  God,"  which  "  communion  " 
is  the  infinite  store  of  grace  and  love  and  blessing  that 
is  from  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  common  enjoyment  of 
all  Christ's  people.  As  "  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in 
him  should  all  fulness  dwell,"  so  it  dwells  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  all  "  the  church,  which  is  his  body,  the  fulness 
of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all." 

The  idea  will  be  more  fully  developed  as  w^e  consider 
II.  What  duties  are  consequent  upon  this  commun- 
ion. 

1.  The  first  obviously  is :  An  acknowledgment  of  all 
who  truly  believe  in  Christ,  and  show  forth  fruits  meet 
for  repentance,  as  fellow-members  of  Christ.  Christ 
brings  us  together  in  his  body,  the  Holy  Ghost  ani- 
mates us  with  one  life.  But  of  this  we  have  already 
spoken,  though  we  may  add,  that,  if  the  holy  angels 
rejoice  over  one  sinner  who  repents,  how  much  more 
should  we  rejoice  to  find  ourselves  joined  to  so  great  a 
company  of  siimers  ransomed  like  ourselves  from  eter- 
nal ruin,  and  made  heirs  like  ourselves  of  the  same 
everlasting  life ! 

2.  From  this  acknowledgment  will  come — love  to  all 
Christians,  and  this,  simply,  because  they  are  Chris- 
tians, though  the  love  may  be  heightened  by  pecuhar 
circumstances.  They  are  beloved  of  God  our  Father, 
as  redeemed  by  the  infinitely  precious  blood  of  his  Son, 
sanctified  by  his  Spirit  through  his  word,  and  destined 
to  manifest  eternally  the  riches  of  the  glory  of  his 
grace.  How  precious  must  they  be  to  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  when  bought  with  such  a  price,  sanctified 
by  such  grace,  and  intended  for  such  glory !  All  their 
sins  blotted  out  like  ours,  all  their  defects  icovered  like 
ours,  all  their  wants  supplied  like  ours,  from  the  fulness 


T4 


THE  HOLY  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,         Lect.  XXV. 


of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  fulness  of  Christ,  the  love  we 
feel  for  Christ  our  head  should  flow  forth  to  all  our 
fellow-members  of  his  holy  body ;  and  his  love  to  us 
make  them  dear  to  us  for  his  sake.  And  this  love 
should  be  cultivated,  not  waiting  until  it  is  drawn  out 
of  us  by  accidental  circumstances.  We  should  delight 
to  meditate  on  the  many  members  of  Christ's  elect 
body  with  whom  we  are  joined,  though  they  are  scat- 
tered throughout  the  world.  Our  hearts  should  make 
voyages  and  journeys  of  discovery  after  them  ;  and,  re- 
membering that  they  may  be  in  affliction,  and  must  be 
in  temptation,  we  should  pray  for  them  and  delight  to 
liold  them  in  the  embraces  of  our  faith.  Is  it  not  a 
most  pleasant  thought,  that,  from  whatever  spot  oil  earth 
a  Christian  prays,  his  prayers  go  up  to  the  one  heart  of 
Christ,  and  there  meet  with  our  prayers  and  the  prayers 
of  all  other  Christians  ;  and  so  when  blessings  for  each 
of  us  are  sent,  they  all  flow  out  from  the  same  fountain 
of  infinite  love !  How  does  this  make  us  all  one  in 
communion  with  the  Father,  and  his  Son  Jesus  Christ, 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  spirit  of  grace  and  supplication 
which  is  given  to  us  all,  as  the  sign  of  our  adoption  I 

3.  With  this  love  there  will  be  sympathy.  "  As  in 
water,  face  answereth  to  face,  so  answereth  the  heart 
of  man  to  man."  This  is  even  more  true  of  Christians. 
Our  history  is  the  same,  saved  from  the  same  ruin  by 
the  same  grace.  Our  difficulties  are  the  same  from  the 
deceiving  heart  within,  and  from  the  temptations  with- 
out ;  our  duties  are  the  same,  the  advancement  of  God's 
glory  in  the  services  of  a  Christian  life  ;  our  comforts 
are  the  same,  the  covenant  promises  of  the  Father,  the 
kinsmanship  of  the  Son,  and  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy 
CHlO^t ;  our  hope  is  the  same,  of  eternal  bliss  in  our 


Lect.  XXV.]       THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 


75 


father's  house  when  the  family  shall  all  be  brought 
home,  —  "  no  wanderer  lost,"  —  to  dwell  in  love  and 
joy  and  peace  forever.  The  sympathy  of  Christ  the 
head  thrills  through  each  and  all  the  members  of  his 
blessed  body,  and  so  each  member  should  sympathize 
with  all  the  rest.  This  is  the  beginning  of  the  com- 
munion of  the  church  above  :  here,  like  our  salvation, 
begun  in  sorrow ;  there,  like  our  salvation,  consum- 
mated in  a  happiness  without  alloy. 

4.  Such  sympathy  were  nought,  if  it  be  not  mani- 
fested by  mutual  assistance.  Every  one  must  know  it 
to  be  his  duty  readily  and  cheerfully  to  employ  his  gifts 
for  the  advantage  and  salvation  of  other  members. 
The  church  is  an  organized  bodv,  so  that  we  cannot 
fail  to  be  affected  by  the  healthfulness  or  sickness  of 
any  member.  Nay,  as  in  the  individual  believer  the 
grace  of  God  operates  through  his  own  use  of  his  own 
faculties,  so  in  the  church  the  grace  we  have  in  com- 
mon operates  through  the  zeal  of  its  members.  This 
cannot  be  made  clearer  than  by  remembering  the  apos- 
tle's words  (Ephes.  iv.  13,)  when,  speaking  of  the  edi- 
fying or  building  up  of  Christ's  body  in  the  perfecting 
of  the  saints,  he  says  we  must  "  grow  up  unto  him  in 
all  things,  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ ;  from  whom 
the  whole  body,  fitly  joined  together  and  compacted  by 
that  which  every  saint  supplieth,  according  to  the  ef- 
fectual working  in  the  measure  of  every  part,  making 
increase  of  the  body  to  the  edifying  of  itself  in  love." 
Here  you  see  that,  while  Christ  is  the  edifier  of  the 
body,  it  is  to  edify  itself;  and,  while  there  is  "  the  ef- 
fectual working  "  of  the  Holy  Ghost  "  in  the  measure 
of  every  part "  (^.  e,  the  degree  of  grace  and  ability 
given  to  each  member),  the  body  is  "  compacted,"  and 


♦ 


THE  HOLY  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,       [Lect.  XXV 

«*  maketh  Increase"  by  "  that  which  every  joint  suppli- 
eth,"  and  this  by  the  mutual  aid  of  Christians  united 
in  love  to  the  one  head,  and  to  each  other. 

In  other  words,  it  is  the  order  of  grace  that  Chris- 
tians are  instrumentally  dependent  upon  each  other ;  as 
we  grow  they  grow ;  as  they  grow  we  grow.  What- 
ever we  do  for  their  benefit  is  for  our  own  ;  whatever 
they  do  for  our  benefit  is  for  their  own.  Thus  it  is  not 
only  our  duty,  but  our  best  interest,  to  impart  freely  of 
all  God's  gifts  to  us  for  the  benefit  of  our  fellow-Chris- 
tians. There  must  be  a  communion  of  prayers  and 
acts  and  gifts,  as  tliere  is  a  communion  of  grace.  If 
we  refuse  this  closeness  of  union  to  our  fellow-Chris- 
tians, we  shall  suffer  doubly ;  for  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
not  use  m  as  the  channels  of  his  grace  to  them,  nor  can 
the  effectual  working  through  them  reach  us.  Nothing 
but  weakness  and  death  can  result  from  such  selfish  iso- 
lation. It  is  this  that  the  church  needs  now.  When 
the  Holy  Spirit  was  poured  out  copiously  upon  the 
church  at  the  Pentecost,  "  they  had  all  things  in  com- 
mon." The  communion  was  complete;  and,  hence, 
the  great  spiritual  prosperity  and  rapid  growth  of  the 
church.  The  absence  of  such  communion,  or  rather 
the  imperfectness  of  it  now,  is  a  certain  sign  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  not  with  us  as  with  them.  If  all  Chris- 
tians united  their  hearts  and  efforts  and  means  for  the 
glory  of  the  true  church,  as  they  did,  the  gospel  would 
soon  cover  the  whole  earth.  We  have  talent  enough, 
members  enough,  wealth  enough  to  do  it,  if  we  fairly 
consecrated  all  without  reserve.  All  we  need  is  a  true 
and  hearty  communion  of  saints. 

Ah !  beloved  brethren,  let  us  take  into  our  souls  the 
grand  idea  of  this  communion  ! 


lbct.xxv.]      the  communion  of  saints. 


77 


How  vast  the  fellowship  !  With  the  saints  of  all 
ages  in  the  past!  With  the  saints  of  all  ages  in  the 
future  !     With  the  church  eternal  in  glory  ! 

How  comforting  I  We  are  not  alone  in  our  work,  in 
our  trials,  in  our  hopes  I  Millions  uncounted  have  been 
working  for  us,  praying  for  us,  rejoicing  over  us  I  Mil- 
lions uncounted  of  hearts  are  now  beating  in  unison 
with  ours !  Millions  uncounted  are  to  follow  us,  for 
whom  we  are  even  now  transmitting  the  riches  of 

grace  I 

How  elevating  the  sentiment !  What  has  the  world 
equal  to  this  philanthropy  !  —  this  bond  of  holy,  unself- 
ish, noble  sympathy !     It  is  the  dawn  of  heaven ! 

"  Not  to  me  only,"  said  our  apostle,  when  anticipat- 
ing his  crown  of  celestial  righteousness,  —  heaven  would 
have  lost  for  him  the  fulness  of  its  bliss,  if  he  had 
thought  he  was  to  receive  it  alone,  —  "  not  to  me  only, 
but  to  all  them  also  that  love  his  appearing," — all 
whom  the  Father  has  chosen,  all  whom  the  Son  has 
redeemed,  all  whom  the  Spirit  shall  have  sanctified ! 
The  number  whom  no  man  can  count,  unanimous  in 
praise  and  joy  and  strength  and  love  without  end ! 

O  what  a  grand  exalted  song, 
When  every  tribe  and  every  tongue 
Redeemed  by  blood  with  Christ  appear, 
And  join  in  one  full  chorus  there  ! 

My  soul  anticipates  the  day, 
Would  stretch  her  wings  and  soar  away, 
To  aid  the  song,  the  palm  to  bear, 
And  bow  the  chief  of  sinners  there. 

Amen. 


■■•■it 


II  \ 


LECTURE  XXVI. 


THE  FOEGIVENESS  OP  SINS. 


TWENTY-FIRST  LORD'S  DAY. 


THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS. 


Quest.  LVI.     What  believest  thou  concerning  "  Ihe  forgiveness  of  sins  "  f 
Aw8.    That  God,  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  satisfaction,  will  no  more  remem- 
ber my  sins  and  my  corrupt  nature,  against  which  I  have  to  struggle 
all  my  life  long;  but  will  graciously  impute  to  me  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  that  I  may  never  be  condemned  before  the  tribunal  of  God. 

A  FTER  the  doctrine  of  "  the  holy  Catholic  church" 
-^  properly  comes  a  consideration  of  those  benefits 
which  every  true  member  of  Christ's  body  receives 
through  faith  in  his  name.  These  are  concisely  stated 
as  three  :  The  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  the  resurrection  of 
the  body ;  and  the  life  everlasting.  The  first  we  enjoy 
even  in  this  life,  the  other  two  after  death.  Our  pres- 
ent lesson  respects 

The  Forgiveness  of  Sins  ;  and  we  could  not  have 
a  better  guide  for  our  thoughts  than  the  clear  and  pre- 
cise answer  to  the  56th  Question  which  we  have  just 
read. 

Let  us  examine  it  under  four  heads  : 

First  :  The  nature  of  forgiveness. 

Secondly  :  The  author  of  forgiveness. 

Thirdly  :   The  means  of  forgiveness. 

Fourthly  :  The  extent  of  forgiveness. 

On  these  several  points  we  accept  and  profess  the 
opinions  of  our  church,  not  on  its  authority,  but  be- 
cause they  agree  strictly  with  the  Word  of  God  out  of 


VOL.  II. 


6 


82 


THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS.       [Lect.XXVI. 


It  i 


which  they  are  taken.  We  bring  no  preconceived 
philosophy  to  the  interpretation  of  the  Scripture,  but 
shall  take  the  statements  of  Scripture,  which  is  our 
only  rule  of  faith,  precisely  as  they  are  made,  since 
from  the  very  nature  of  the  case  we  can  know  nothing 
of  forgiveness  except  from  the  revelation  of  him,  who, 
because  he  alone  is  our  judge,  can  alone  be  our  Saviour. 
Nor  shall  we  attempt  to  vindicate  the  divine  gospel  of 
forgiveness  against  those  who  would  teach  in  its  stead 
a  scheme  of  their  own  devising,  since  they  contend  with 
the  words  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

First  :  The  nature  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins. 
What  is  sin?  Iniquity  (or  inequality)  is  wrong- 
doing toward  another.  Transgression  is  a  breaking  of 
the  precise  bounds  or  rules  fixed  for  our  conduct  by 
competent  authority.  Unrighteousness  is  non-conform- 
ity to  right.  Sin  *  (a  purely  English  word,  the  others 
are  from  the  Latin)  includes  all  these,  but  has  in  addi- 
tion a  special  sense  of  being  committed  against  God  ; 
for  though  we  may  speak  of  iniquity  or  transgression 
or  unrighteousness  in  our  relations  to  men,  we  cannot 
without  violence  use  the  word  sin,  except  as  committed 
against  God.  In  our  English  version,  sin  translates  one 
word  (a/Ao/yrta),  except  in  three  places  (Ephes.  i.  7 ;  ii. 
5;  Col.  ii.  13),  where  another  word  (irapdTrrwfjLo)  is 
found,  which  elsewhere  is  translated  either  trespass  or 
offence.  In  one  text  we  find  both  words  (Ephes.  ii.  1) 
"dead  in  trespasses  and  sins."  But  in  every  text 
where  the  former  word,  always  rendered  sin,  occurs, 
it  has  the  sense  of  oflfence  to  God;  f  so  that  our  word 

•  Sin.    German,  Siinde  (from  Sunder,  departure), 
t  The  verb  dfiaprdvu,  in  Matt,  xviii.  15,  21;  Luke  xvii.  3, 4,  is  used  with 
reference  to  man  ;  but  dfiap-nj^a,  ifiapna^  never. 


Lect.  XXVI.]         THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS. 


8B 


sin  corresponds  exactly  to  it.  Hence  the  excellently 
precise  definition  of  the  Westminster  divines  : 

"  Sin  is  any  want  of  conformity  unto  or  transgression 
of  the  law  of  6rod.^^  It  is  the  doing  of  what  God  has 
forbidden,  or  the  not  doing  what  God  has  commanded. 
So  in  the  general  confession  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
they  say  :  "  We  have  offended  against  thy  holy  laws  : 
we  have  left  undone  those  things  which  we  ought  to 
have  done ;  and  we  have  done  those  things  which  we 
ought  not  to  have  done." 

The  moral  nature  of  man,  however,  is  such,  that  his 
acts,  inward  or  overt,  are  not  instinctive  or  isolated, 
but  proceed  from  certain  moral  tendencies  within  him, 
which,  from  lack  of  a  more  precise  term,  we  call  prin- 
ciples. Thus  an  honest  man  abstains  from  dishonest 
acts,  because  he  has  a  principle  or  fixed  determination 
to  honesty  within  him  ;  a  dishonest  man  acts  dishon- 
estly from  want  of  such  a  principle  ;  and  it  is  from  the 
evidence  he  gives  of  having  or  lacking  such  principles 
that  we  form  our  judgment  of  his  character.  So  one 
who  has  a  reverent  love  for  God  in  his  heart  will  de- 
sire and  endeavor  to  conform  himself  to  all  God's  will, 
because  he  is  governed  by  a  principle  of  godliness. 
The  absence  of  such  a  principle  (which  the  Scripture 
calls  the  image  of  God,  or  likeness  to  God,  because  it 
is  a  correspondence  of  the  creature  to  the  Creator) 
renders  our  whole  nature  sinful,  because  it  is  wholly 
inclined  to  sin  against  God.  Hence  the  Scriptures 
declare  that  we  are  sinners  by  nature :  "  By  nature 
children  of  wrath ; "  because  naturally,  as  we  are  born, 
and  before  we  are  renewed  by  grace,  we  have  no  such 
principle  of  godliness,  for  which  we  are  most  justly 
condemned,  since  an  evil  disposition  is  more  criminal 


1 


:l 


84 


tHE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS.        [Lect.  XXVI. 


than  single  evil  acts.  This  is  admitted  in  the  discipline 
of  a  wise  parent,  who  does  not  so  much  punish  his 
child  for  a  separate  fault,  as  endeavor  to  correct  the 
child's  evil  tendencies  or  disposition,  by  the  inculcation 
of  opposite  principles.  This  corrupt  tendency,  which 
the  Scriptures  assert  belong  to  all  mankind,  is  the  root 
of  all  sin  in  us ;  and  as  the  holy  principle  was  lost  by 
our  first  parent  Adam,  by  the  commission  of  his  first 
sin,  and  so  is  wanting  in  all  his  descendants,  our  nat- 
ural depravity,  our  tendency  to  sin,  is  called  by  theolo- 
gians original  siriy  a  term  not  found  in  Scripture  but 
justified  by  Scripture :  "  As  by  one  man  sin  entered 
into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so  death  passed 
upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned."  It  is  original 
sin  in  a  double  sense :  because  it  came  from  the  first 
sin  of  the  first  man,  and  because  it  is  the  source  (/ow« 
et  origo)  of  all  our  sins.  When,  therefore,  we  speak 
of  "  the  forgiveness  of  sins,"  we  suppose  the  forgive- 
ness to  extend  not  only  to  our  actual  sins  of  omission 
and  commission,  but  also  to  our  original  sin,  the  cor- 
ruption of  our  whole  nature.  Thus,  the  Catechism 
bids  us  say  that  we  believe  "  God  will  no  more  remem- 
ber our  sins  and  our  corrupt  nature." 

"  Forgiveness"  is  an  English  word,  compounded  of 
give  and  the  prefix  /or,  which  has  the  sense  of  from^ 
implying  separation,*  as  in  for-sake,  for-get,  for-bear. 
In  our  English  version  it  translates  two  words:  one 
meaning  a  loosing  from  (diroAuw,  Luke  vi.  27),  the 
other  a  taking  away  (ac^co-t?,  from  d<f>Lr)fjLL,  in  very  many 
places).  So  that  our  translators  are  nicely  accurate 
in  this  term  also.     Our  Catechism  makes  us  say  that 

♦  Sometimes /or  is  contracted  from /'ore,  — ybrwards;  sometimes  inten- 
sity from  German  rcr,  — forlorn. 


Lect.XXVL]       the  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS. 


85 


*'  God  will  no  more  remember  my  sins  nor  my  corrupt 
nature  "  ;  which  language  is  justified  by  the  prophet 
Jeremiah,  xxxi.  34  :  "  Saith  the  Lord,  I  will  forgive 
their  iniquity,  and  I  will  remember  their  sin  no  more." 
Not  that  God,  strictly  speaking,  ever  forgets,  but  he 
acts  towards  those  whom  he  forgives  as  though  their 
sins  were  forgotten.  He  separates  their  sins  from 
them. 

The  fact  of  the  sin  having  been  committed  is  not 
destroyed.  That  is  impossible.  Nothing  can  change 
or  destroy  the  past.  It  must  ever  remain  true  that  sin 
was  committed.  It  is  true  of  all  the  saints  in  glory 
that  they  were  once  sinners  by  nature  and  practice, 
and  it  must  ever  remain  known  to  God's  all-ptesent 
mind  that  we  have  sinned  against  him. 

The  wickedness  of  the  sin  is  not  taken  away.  Noth- 
ing can  reconcile  wrong  and  right.  What  is  wrong 
once  must  be  wrong  always,  for  right  is  unchangeable 
as  God  himself. 

Nor  can  the  demerit  or  punishment  due  to  sin  be 
taken  away.  It  is  the  rule  of  eternal  order,  the  de- 
mand of  eternal  justice,  that  punishment  should  follow 
violation  of  law.  This  axiom  lies  deeper  than  in  the 
nature  of  things ;  it  is  in  the  nature  of  the  infinitely 
perfect  Grod.  So  Seneca  truly  says,  that  in  a  perfect 
government  crime  can  never  be  forgiven,  because  for- 
giveness is  inconsistent  with*  justice.  The  sin  must  be 
expiated  before  the  sinner  can  go  free.  The  punish- 
ment due  to  his  sin  must  be  in  some  manner  carried  to 
execution  before  he  can  be  treated  as  though  he  had 
never  sinned. 

-   But  "  forgiveness  "  does  mean  that  the  sinner  is  set 
free  from  his  personal  obnoxiousness  to  punishment  (or 


I 


86 


THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS.         [Lect.  XXVL 


hilt' 


.  '  < 


guilt),  or  that  the  just  consequence  of  his  sins  is  taken 
away  from  him  because  that  consequence,  or  guilt,  or 
punishment,  has  been  borne  and  satisfied  in  some  way- 
consistent  with  divine  justice,  though  not  by  him.  This 
method,  as  we  shall  hereafter  learn  more  particularly, 
is,  by  the  substitution  of  Christ,  to  satisfy  the  law,  in 
the  place  of  the  sinner  who  believes  on  his  name.  In 
other  words,  his  sin  is  punished  and  the  law  takes  its 
course,  but  in  Christ  and  on  Christ's  person,  not  in  and 
on  the  penitent  believer.  Thus  we  say  after  the  Cate- 
chism, not  that  God  forgives  us  without  reason,  or  arbi- 
trarily, (for  that  were  a  violation  of  justice  and  truth,) 
but  "  that  God,  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  satisfaction,  will 
no  m'ore  remember  my  sins  nor  my  cornipt  nature," 
"  but  will  graciously  impute  to  me  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  that  I  may  never  be  condemned  before  the  tri- 
bunal of  God."  The  forgiveness  is  every  way  consist- 
ent with  justice,  because  it  is  on  account  of  satisfaction 
rendered  and  righteousness  imputed.  This  will  be 
farther  treated  of  under  our  third  head. 

Secondly  :  The  author  of  forgiveness. 

It  is  God  only.  "I,  even  I,  that  blotteth  out  thy 
transgressions  for  my  name's  sake,  and  will  not  remem- 
ber thy  sins."    Is.  xliii.  25. 

It  can  be  God  only,  for  it  is  against  him  that  the  sin 
has  been  committed.  All  wrong  is  wrong  against  God, 
for  all  our  duty  is  to  him.  We  may  wrong  our  fellow- 
creatures,  and  they  may  forgive  us  ;  but  their  forgive- 
ness does  not  free  us  from  the  guilt  of  having  sinned 
against  God  in  wronging  them.  Thus  David,  after  his 
worst  and  very  complicated  crimes,  in  which  he  had 
most  foully  wronged  and  murdered  one  whom  as  his 
subject  he  was  bound  to  protect  and  honor,  exclaims  to 


i 


Lect.  XXVI.]        THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS. 


87 


God :  "  Against  thee,  thee  only  have  I  sinned  and 
done  this  evil  in  thy  sight."  So  Joseph,  faithful  in  the 
midst  of  temptation,  asks :  "  How  shall  I  do  this  great 
wickedness,  and  sin  against  God  ?  "  Hence  God  has 
enjoined  upon  us  forgiveness  to  those  who  have  injured 
us,  because  punishment,  and  therefore  remittal  of  pun- 
ishment, is  his  alone.  "Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will 
repay,  saith  the  Lord."  "  Who,"  then,  "  can  forgive 
sins,  but  God  only  ?  " 

As  forgiveness  can  be  extended  only  for  the  sake  of 
satisfaction  rendered,  God  only  can  forgive,  for  he  only 
can  determine  the  suflSciency  of  the  satisfaction,  or 
whether,  if  it  be  sufficient,  it  shall  be  accepted.  It  is 
a  matter  of  free  grace  on  his  part,  if  he  release  the 
sinner  from  punishment  for  any  reason. 

So,  also,  he  alone  can  forgive,  because  he  alone  could 
devise  and  execute  a  plan  by  which  his  mercy  to  the 
sinner  may  be  justified.  Such,  in  his  estimation,  is  the 
enormity  of  sin, — such  its  extreme  guiltiness, — that  he 
has  declared  its  desert  to  be  eternal  punishment ;  and 
he  never  remits  sin  except  for  the  sake  of  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ,  his  coequal  Son  in  our  nature. 
No  such  atonement  could  ever  have  been  provided 
except  by  him  alone.  Therefore,  as  God  in  his  mercy 
and  wisdom  and  power  has  provided  the  only  method 
by  which  sin  can  be  forgiven,  he  only  is  the  author  of 
forgiveness  ;  and  the  mercy  of  the  forgiveness  lies  in 
the  provision  and  application  to  the  sinner  of  the  jus- 
tifying righteousness.  It  is  mercy,  but  mercy  through 
justice  ;  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  Thus  we 
come  to. 

Thirdly  :  The  means  of  forgiveness. 

This  the  Catechism  declares  to  be  "  Christ's  satis- 


88 


THE  FORGIVENESS  OP  SIKS.        [Lect.XXVI. 


IJCOT.XXTI.]      THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS. 


89 


i 


faction,"  —  "the   imputation  of  the  righteousness  of 

Christ." 

We  have  already  seen  that  no  sin  of  ours  can  go  un- 
punished, and  that  the  guiltiness  of  sin  is  so  great  that 
we  can  never  satisfy  the  penalty  ourselves,  but  that,  if 
not  forgiven,  we  must  suffer  on  eternally.  It  follows, 
therefore,  that  the  sinner  cannot  be  pardoned  except 
the  divine  justice  accept  a  sufficient  righteousness  pre- 
sented by  another  on  his  behalf  If  he  may  not  satisfy 
the  law  of  God  by  a  substitute,  he  must  die.  The 
Scripture  is  explicit  and  decisive  on  this  point.  God 
will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty.  If  we  continue 
guilty  we  must  die  ;  and  except  that  guilt  can  be  taken 
off  from  us  by  another,  our  guilt  is  perpetual. 

But  will  God  accept  such  a  vicarious  satisfaction? 
If  so,  has  such  a  satisfaction  been  provided  ?  If  so, 
how  may  we  avail  ourselves  of  its  advantage  ? 

Will  God  accept  such  a  satisfaction  ?     Will  the  sub- 
stitution of  a  vicarious  righteousness  justify  his  forgive 
ness  of  the  actual  sinner  ?     The  best  answer  to  these 
questions  is,  that  he  has  done  so.     He,  the  original  of 
all  law  and  justice,  has  declared  that,  for  the  sake  of 
Christ's  righteousness,  he  is  justified  in  pardoning  all 
who  will  accept  of  mercy  through  Christ ;  and  this  was 
the  purpose  for  which  he  sent  Christ  into  the  world 
to  obey,  to  suffer,  and  to  die.     Thus  the  apostle  (Rom. 
iii.  19-26)  :  "  By  the  deeds  of  the  law  there  shall  no 
flesh  be  justified  ; "  i.  e.  salvation  by  our  own  works  is 
impossible.     "  But  now  the  righteousness  of  God  with- 
out the  law  is  manifested,  being  witnessed  by  the  law 
and  the  prophets ;  even  the  righteousness  which  is  of 
God,  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  unto  all  and  upon  all 
theni  Ouil  bdiem     F«jhere  is  no  difference  ;  for  aU 


have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God  ;  being 
justified  freely  by  his  grace  through  the  redemption 
that  is  in  Christ  Jesus ;  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to 
be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare 
his  righteousness  for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past 
through  the  forbearance  of  God  ;  to  declare,  /  «ay,  at 
this  time  his  righteousness  that  he  might  be  just,  and 
the  justifier  of  him  which  believeth  in  Jesus."     This 
plainly  teaches  us,  that  God  has  provided  a  redemption 
in  the  work  of  Christ,  as  the  justification  of  the  be- 
lieving sinner,  and  that  he  does  pardon  every  sinner 
who  believes,  for  the  sake  of  what  Christ  has  accom- 
plished.    That  which  God  has  done  and  promises  to 
do  must  be  right. 

But  we  may  state  reasons  for  this  acceptance  of  a 
substituted  righteousness  :  God  had  already  dealt  with 
us  because  of  our  representation  by  another.    However 
our  involvement  with  Adam,  the  head  of  our  race  and 
the  first  sinner,  may  be  stated  by  different  interpreters 
of  the  scriptural  declarations  on  the  subject,  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  we  do  suffer  in  consequence  of  Adam's 
fall.     The  ground  cursed  for  his  sake  is  still  cursed  to 
us ;  still  the  price  of  man's  bread  is  the  sweat  of  his 
face ;    nor  is  there  one  of  all  the  human  family,  the 
circumstances  of  whose  birth,  the  mortality  of  whose 
frame,  the  sorrows  of  whose  life,  do  not  prove  that  death 
has  come  upon  him  by  an  unbroken  entail  from  his 
first  parents.     If  we  suffer  for  the  sins  of  another,  may 
we  not  be  saved  by  another's   righteousness?     The 
principle  of  representation  or  substitution  is  traceable 
through  all  the  interiinking  relations  of  man  with  man. 
It  is  a  law  of  our  nature.     Besides,  as  was  observed  in 
a  former  lecture,  what  is  the  end  of  punishment  ?    Cer- 
tainly not  the  destruction  of  the  transgressor,  but  the 


90 


THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS.        [Lkct.  XXVI 


Lbct.  XXVI.]      THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS. 


91 


vindication  of  the  law,  that  its  majesty  may  be  main- 
tained and  others  be  deterred  from  following  his  exam- 
ple. If,  then,  the  law  of  God  may  be  so  magnified 
and  its  truth  be  vindicated  by  the  substitution  of 
another  to  bear  the  penalty,  the  substitute  may  be 
accepted  and  the  sinner  set  free.  How  completely  has 
this  been  done  by  the  vicarious  work  and  passion  of 
Christ  ?  How  clearly  do  they  show  God's  estimate  of 
sin  and  of  righteousness  ?  The  sufferings  of  Christ 
had  in  them  more  proof  of  divine  wrath  against  sin, 
more  expiatory  virtue,  more  honor  to  the  law,  more 
warning  of  God's  certain  condemnation  of  the  impeni^ 
tent,  than  the  aggregate  sufferings  of  the  whole  human 
family.  The  merit  of  Christ's  active  obedience  was 
greater  than  the  aggregate  obedience  of  a  thousand 
races  like  ours.  The  law  of  God,  therefore,  receives 
far  greater  majesty  by  the  pardon  of  the  sinner  through 
the  righteousness  of  Christ.  God  remains  infinitely 
just,  yet  becomes  infinitely  merciful  towards  the  sinner 
represented  by  Christ. 

Such  a  satisfaction  has  been  made.  Behold  the 
wisdom  and  the  grace  of  God  I  His  own  coequal  Son, 
who  being  no  creature  is  no  servant,  makes  the  satis- 
faction. The  sinner  is  man :  the  law  broken  was  the 
law  given  to  be  obeyed  by  man  on  earth  ;  the  penalty 
was  the  death  of  man ;  and  so  the  only  begotten  of 
God  assumes  to  his  infinite  divinity  the  nature  of  man, 
—  puts  himself  under  the  law  given  to  us,  obeys  it 
in  his  life  upon  earth,  suffers  our  penalty  in  his  death 
on  the  cross,  making  the  merit  of  his  obedience  and 
suffering  in  our  nature  infinite  by  his  divinity,  as  the 
altar  sanctifying  the  sacrifice.  This  is  not  a  theory 
of  a  theological  school.  It  is  the  truth,  wellnigh  the 
language  of  Scripture  :    "  When   the  fulness  of  time 


.. ) 


was  come,  God  sent  forth  his  Son  made  of  a  woman, 
made  under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under 
the  law,  that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons." 
He  took  our  place  that  we  might  be  admitted  to  his. 
"  He  was  made  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin,  that  we 
might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him."  The 
work  was  accomplished ;  for,  says  the  apostle :  "  Be- 
cause ye  are  sons,  God  hath  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  his 
Son  into  your  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father." 

What  is  the  method  by  which  this  satisfaction  ad- 
vantages us? 

The  answer  of  our  instructor  is :    By  Imputation  ; 
which  is  synonymous  with  the  phrase  in  the  former 
part  of  the  paragraph  :  "  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  satis- 
faction."    For  what  is  the  meaning  of  imputation? 
Not  that  by  the  imputation  of  sins  to  Christ  he  be- 
comes a  sinner,  or  our  sins  become  his  sins  ;  or  that 
by  the  imputation  of  his  righteous  acts  to  the  sinner 
he  becomes  actually  innocent,  or  Christ's  acts  his  acts. 
In  no  sense  are,  or  can  be,  personal  acts  transferable. 
But  the  legal  consequences  of  the  acts  are  transferred 
by  imputation :  Christ  suffered  for  our  sins ;   we  are 
saved  and  accepted  on  account  of  his  righteousness. 
Whenever,  therefore,  the  sinner  believes  in  Christ,  — 
that  is,  accepts  and  relies  upon  Christ's  suretyship,— he 
is  justified  before  God,  because  Christ's  righteousness 
is  imputed  to  him.     So  says  the  Psalmist :  ''Blessed  is 
the  man  to  whom  the  Lord  imputeth  not  iniquity ; " 
which  is  equivalent  to  the  former  part  of  the  parallel- 
ism :  "  Blessed  is  he  whose  transgression  is  forgiven, 
whose  sin  is  covered."    And  again,  "  Abraham  believed 
God  and  it  was  accounted  (i.  e.  imputed)  unto  him 
for  righteousness." 


THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS.        [Lect.  XXVL 

Fourthly  :  The  extent  of  this  forgiveness. 
Here  the  Catechism  bids  us  say,  that  "  God  will  no 
more  remember  my  sins  nor  my  corrupt  nature,  against 
which  I  have  to  struggle  all  my  life  long  ....  that  I 
anynever  be  condemned  before  the  tribunal  of  God." 
It  is  the  forgiveness  of  all  the  believer's  sins.  "  I, 
even  I,  am  he  that  blotteth  out  thy  transgressions  for 
mv  name's  sake,  and  will  not  remember  thv  sins." 
There  is  no  exception  or  reserve  made,  and,  therefore, 
all  the  sins  of  the  Christian  are  blotted  out.  Not  only 
the  sins  which  he  has  committed,  but  all  the  sins  which 
his  "corrupt  nature,"  notwithstanding  his  struggles 
against  it,  may  cause  him  to  commit.  This  is  neces- 
saiy  to  salvation.  For  the  sanctification  of  the  sinner, 
though  begun  at  the  moment  he  believes,  is  not  com- 
plete until  his  admission  to  glory.  If,  therefore,  the 
pardon  extends  only  to  sins  committed  before  conver- 
sion, or,  as  some  have  heretically  contended,  before 
baptism,  the  penitent  will  certainly,  because  of  his 
remaining  weakness,  fall  into  fresh  condemnation  from 
which,  there  is  no  salvation.  But,  blessed  be  his  name ! 
God  pardons  our  whole  sinful  nature,  and  therefore 
all  the  sins  which,  despite  of  our  faith,  yet  imperfect, 
come  from  it ;  so  that  he  who  trulv  believes  can  never 
in  any  sense  "be  condemned  before  the  tribunal  of 
God."  His  acquittal  is  complete,  his  justification  is 
established,  his  salvation  is  sure ;  that  acquittal  is  not 
because  of  his  own  work,  nor  can  be  defeated  bv  his 
sins,  but  is  for  the  sake  of  the  perfect  and  all-sufficient 
righteousness  of  Christ 

; , .  Nor  let  any  say  that  this  doctrine  leads  to  licentious- 
ness in  giving  immunity  to  the  sinner.  Mark  the 
careful  language  of  the  Catechism  :  we  must  "  struggle 


Lect.  XXVL]         THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS.  93 

all  our  lives  long  "  against  this  "  corrupt  nature."    It  is 
an  essential  quality  of  true  faith,  saving  faith,  that  it 
"  works  by  love,"  "  purifies  the  heart,"  and  "  over- 
comes the  world."     If,  therefore,  we  do  not  struggle 
acrainst  our  "  corrupt  nature,"  we  have  no  faith,  and 
are  not  covered  by  Christ's  merits.      If  we  wilfully 
and  obstinately  sin  on,  we  have  no  evidence  of  pardon, 
but  of  the  reverse.     None  ever  accepted  Christ  as  a 
Saviour  from  punishment,  who  did  not  accept  him  as 
a  Saviour  from  the  power  of  sin.     Nay,  the  seal  of 
the  believer's  acceptance  with  God  is  the   stamp  of 
Christ's  likeness  on  his  heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
the  sanctifying  grace  of  the  Spirit  is  the  only  sure 
earnest   of  perfect   salvation   amidst  the   holmess  ot 
heaven.     It  is  by  this  Spirit  within  him  by  which  he 
struggles  against  his  "  corrupt  nature." 

God  does,  indeed,  chasten  the  believer,  but  chastise- 
ment is  not  punishment ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  a  proof 
of  the  Father's  adopting  love.      So,  if  "  we  are,  by 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  sorry  for  (our  sinful) 
weaknesses,  and  earnestly  desirous  to  fight  against  our 
unbelief,  and  to  live  according  to  all  the  command- 
ments of  God,  he  may  rest  assured  that  no  sin  or  in- 
firmity, which  still  remaineth  against  our  will  in  us, 
can  hinder  us  from  being  received  of  God  in  mercy, 
and  from  being  made  worthy  partakers  of  the  heav- 
enly meat  and  drink."     For  thus  says  the  apostle : 
"  There  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  m 
Christ  Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh  but  after  the 

Spirit."  ^^     . 

Such,  brethren,  is  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  forgive- 
ness. God  grant  us  the  experience  of  it  in  our  own 
souls. 


i  J_ 


LECTURE  XXVII. 


THE  RESUREECTION  OF  TIE  BODY. 


4! 


TWENTY-SECOND  LORD'S  DAY. 


THE   RESURRECTION   OF  THE   BODY. 


Quest.  LVII.     What  comfort  doth  the  resurrection  of  the  body  a  ford  tiiee  f 
Ans.    That  not  only  mj^  soul,  after  this  life,  shall  be  immediately  taken  up 

to  Christ  its  head;  but  also  that  this  my  body,  being  raised  by  the 

power  of  Christ,  shall  be  reunited  with  my  soul,  and  made  like  to  the 

<2;lorious  body  of  Christ. 
Quest.  LVIII.     What  comfort  takest  thou  from  the  article  of  "  Ufe  ever- 

kistinr/  "  ? 
Ans.    That,  since  I  now  feel  in  my  heart  the  beginning  of  eternal  joy,  after 

this  life  I  shall  inherit  perfect  salvation,  which  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor 

car  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive, 

and  that  to  praise  God  therein  forever. 


T?VERY  careful  reader  of  Scripture  must  be  struck 
^■^  with  the  prominence  given  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  in  the  New  Testament.  Our  blessed 
Lord  taught  it  plainly  in  several  emphatic  passages,  as 
when  he  said :  "  Whoso  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh 
my  blood  hath  eternal  life,  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at 
the  last  day  ;  "  and  when  he  comforted  Martha  at  the 
grave  of  her  brother :  "  Thy  brother  shall  rise  again. 
...  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life ;  "  and,  more 
particularly,  when  he  told  the  cavilling  Jews  :  "  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  the  hour  is  coming  when  the 
dead  sliall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  they 
that  hear  shall  liv^.  .  .  .  Marvel  not  at  this ;  for  the 
hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves 
shall  hear  his  voice  and  shall  come  forth  ;  they  that 
have  done  good  unto  the  resurrection  of  life,  and  they 

VOL.   II.  7 


\ 


l! 


98  THE  KESUKKEUTION  OF  THE  BODY.     ILect.  XXVII. 

that  have  done  evil  unto  the  resurrection  of  damna- 
tion "     AU  the  apostles  treat  of  it  as  not  merely  a 
pleasina  expeetation,  but  a  radical  truth  of  Christianity. 
They  ttuMit  it  to  the  multitudes  of  the  Pentecost ;  for 
we  find  that  the  Sadducees  were  especially  grieved  be- 
cause they  "  preached  through  Jesus  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead."     So  Paul  was  mocked  at  by  the  Athe- 
nians, because  "he  preached  unto  them  Jesus  and  the 
resurrection  "  ;  and,  io  defending  himself  befo.-e  Fehx, 
he  professed  that  he  believed  "all  things  which  are 
written  in  the  law  and  in  the  prophets,  and  had  hope 
towards  God  (which  the  Jews  also  allowed)  that  there 
shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and 
the  unjust."     He  lays  a  like  stress  upon  it  in  his  epis- 
tles ;  as  in  Romans,  where  he  speaks  of  "  waiting  for 
the  adoption,  even  the  redemption,  of  the  body     ;  and  in 
that  noble  chapter,  the  xvth  of  1st  Corinthians,  where, 
liavin<T  demonstrated  and  expounded  it  at  great  length, 
he  adds,  as  the  proper  practical  inference  :  »  Thei-efore. 
my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  immovable,  al- 
ways abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as 
•wr  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.'       So  the  other 
apostles  united  m  carrying  the  faith  of  the  churches 
forward  to  the  grand  consummation  of  the  evangelical 
system,  "the  restitution  of  all  things,"  when  the  bodies 
of  Christ's  saints  would  be  fashioned  "  like  unto  his 
ulorious  body."     Indeed,  such  courage  and  comfort  had 
the  early  believers  from  this  article  of  our  creed,  that 
they  exulted  amidst  the  tortures  of  martyrdom  ;  and 
their  persecutors,  on  one  occasion,  burnt  even  the  bones 
of  those  that  had  been  slain  for  Christ,  and  scattered 
their  ashes  on  the  waters  of  a  rapid  stream,    in  vain 

♦  The  Rhone.     Eusebius,  1. 1,  c.  1. 


Lbct.  XXVII.]      THE  UESURRECTION   OF  THE   BODY. 


iflf 


1 


attempt  to  take  away  the  sublime  liope  from  the  surviv- 
ing C()nfess(3rs. 

Most  gladly,  therefore,  should  we  avail  ourselves  of 
the  op])()rtunity  and  help  afforded  us  by  the  lesson  of 
to-day,  in  harmony  with  Scripture,  to  study  this  cardi- 
nal doctrine  as  fully  as  our  time  will  permit. 

Let  us  remember,  however,  first,  that  the  resui'rec- 
ti(m  of  the  body  is  purely  a  doctrine  of  divine  Scrip- 
ture.    There  is  no  trace  of  its  ever  bavins  been  held 
by  any  man  who  had  not  the  aid  of  revelation.     Many 
of   the   ancients,  Egyptian,    Greek,   and   Roman,   had 
hopes,  by  no  means  clear  or  well  assured,  of  the  soul's 
immortality,  but  the  resurrection  of  the  body  was  not 
dreamed  of  by  any  philosophical  sect ;  and  when  pro- 
claimed  by   ''the    gospel,"   which   "brought  life   and 
immortality  to  light,"  it  was  received  with  ridicule  on 
every  side.     We  have  seen  that  the  Athenians  mocked 
•  at  it,  and  thought  that  "Jesus  and  the  resurrection," 
which  Paul  preached  on  Mars  Hill,  were  two  "  strange  " 
or  new  "  gods."     Pliny,  the  celebrated  naturalist,  and 
foremost  among  the  Latin  writers  on  science,  who  flour- 
ished about  the  time  that  Paul  preached  at  Rome,  and 
probably  was  not  wholly  ignorant  of  this  Christian  be- 
lief, holds  language  most  extraordinary:  "The  chief 
comfort  man  hath  for  his  imperfections  in   nature  is 
this,  that  even  God  is  not  omnipotent ;  and  some  things 
are  beyond  his  reach.     For  neither  is  he  able  to  work 
his  own  death,  were  he  never  so  desirous  of  it,  as  man 
can  do  when  he  is  tired  of  life  (the  best  gift  bestowed 
on  him  amidst  so  many  miseries)  ;   neither  can  he  en- 
dow man  with  immortality  (everlasting  life),  nor  yet 
recall,  raise,  and   revive  those  that  are  once  departed 
and  dead."  *     Celsus,  the  bitter  reviler  of  Christianity, 

*  Nat.  Hist.  b.  1,  c.  vii. 


I 


l! 


100  THE  KESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.    [Lect.XXVU 

lau-hs  at  it  as  "  a  hope  of  worms,  a  filthy  and  dis- 
gusdng  thing,  which  God  neither  can  nor  will  bring 
to  pass  "    JuUan,  notorious  as  the  Apostate,  an  elegant 
writer,  and  of  no  mean  rank  as  a  philosopher,  m  his 
frequent  attacks  upon  Christianity,  shows  more  spleen 
against  this  doctrine  than  any  other.      Justin  Martyr 
sums  up  his  argument  on  the  resurrection  (a  fragment 
of  which  has  reached  us)  in  words  like  these :  "  We 
see  that  our  blessed  Saviour  throughout  all  the  gospel 
declares  the  salvation  of  our  flesh.     W  hy,  then,  do  we 
hearken  to  the  pernicious  maxims  of  infidels,  who  im- 
pudently swerve  from  the  truth  by  owning  that  the 
soul  only  is  immortal  and  incorruptible,  but  the  body 
corruptible   and   perishable.      Thk  we  learned   from 
Plato  and  Pythagoras  before  we  knew  the  truth.      It 
on  Saviour'  has  taught  us  no  more  than  this,  he  has 
teogfit  m  nothing  more  than  those  philosophers.      But 
he  has  made  a  new  and  wonderful  revelation  to  man-- 
kind ;  for,  truly,  new  and  wonderful  it  is  for  Go<l  to 
promise,  not  only  to  preserve  that  which  is  incorruptible 
fa-incorruption,  but  to  bestow  also  incorruption  on  that 
which  is  corruptible."     It  is,  therefore,  to  the  word  of 
God  alone  that  we  must  go  for  our  "  lively  hope,    hum- 
bly employing  our  reason  to  follow  and  acknowledge 
the  wisdom  from  on  high ;  for,  though  it  was  beyond 
the  power  of  reason  to  discover  the  resurrection,  it  is 
folly  within  the  province  of  that  faculty  to  perceive 
and  comprehend  the  truth  of  it. 

Let  us  take  for  our  discussion  the  very  natural  order 
suffo-ested  by  the  answer  to  the  57th  Question. 
'    it  speaks  of  what  occurs  "after  this  life"  ;  that  is, 
after  what  is  commonly  called  death,  when  the  soul  is 
separated  from  the  body.    Now  we  ask. 


%l 


Lett.  XXVII.]    THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.  101 

First  :    What  becomes  of  the  soul  ? 
Secondly  :   What  becomes  of  the  body  f 
Thirdly  :    What  will  be  the  final  state  of  both  body 
and  soul? 
First  :    What  becomes  of  the  soul  "  after  this  life  "  f 

1.  It  does  not  perish.  It  must  continue  to  exist,  be- 
cause after  death  is  the  judgment ;  and  exist  forever, 
because  from  the  judgment  "  the  wicked  go  away  into 
everlasting  punishment,  and  the  righteous  into  life  eter- 
nal." The  words  everlasting  and  eternal  mean  pre- 
cisely the  same,  and  translate  one  Greek  word,  so  that 
if  the  righteous  will  be  rewarded  eternally,  the  wicked 
will  be  punished  eternally ;  the  souls  of  both,  the  wicked 
and  the .  righteous,  are  imperishable  ;  for,  though  the 
term  "  life  "  is  put  for  the  blessedness  of  the  righteous, 
it  does  not  follow  that  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  is 
annihilation  (which,  indeed,  would  be  the  negation  of 
punishment),  since  many  Scriptures  show,  especially  the 
parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus,  that  the  wicked 
are  conscious  sufferers  in  a  place  of  torment.  Indeed, 
the  whole  Scripture  declares  this  life  to  be  a  prepara- 
tion for  eternity,  the  seed-time  of  an  everlasting  harvest, 
the  results  corresponding  to  our  actions  here. 

2.  The  soul  does  not  sleep  until  the  resurrection,  as 
some  fanciful  heretics  have  contended,  for  the  parable 
just  cited  shows  the  contrary.  Many  Scriptures  speak 
of  the  departed  believer  as  in  bliss :  the  writer  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  places  "  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect "  among  the  "  innumerable  "  angels  in 
"  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  "  ;  and  Paul  counted  it  bet- 
ter "  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ,"  —  which  he  would 
not  have  thought  if  he  knew  that  he  was  to  be  dormant 
on  his  leaving  the  scene  of  his  great  usefulness,  as  in 


I 


102  THE  KESCRRECTWN  OF  THE  BODY.   [Lect.  XXVII. 

such  case  he  would  have  preferred  to  remain.     It  is  the 
body  of  the  Christian  that  sleeps  in  Jesus,  not  the  ever 

active,  sensible  soul. 

3    Neither  does  the  soul  pass  into  another  prepara- 
tan,  state,  such  as  that  the  papists  call  purgaU^.     i  or 
7to  an;  purgatorial  purification  by/re,  the  notion 
flatly  contradicted  by  the  apostolical  doctnne  ha  '^e 
blood  of  Christ  cleanses  from  all  sm,'    and  that  aiter 
Christ's  passion  "  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  tor 
tr    Nay,  if  such  purification  by  fire  be  necessary 
why  do  they  pray  and  offer  masses  for  the  souls  of  the 
i'd?    We'iufd  not  have  them  enter  h-en -pu- 
fied,  and  neither  prayers  nor  masses  can  take  the  place 

"^  f  Nor  does  the  sml  go  ir^  any  other  state  (sometimes 
caU;d  "intermediate'-)  than  ^-ven  or  ell  whe^^^^^ 
remains  until  the  resurrection.  For,  m  the  fi.st  place, 
ZZL  shown  in  the  lecture  on  Christ's  »  Descent  mto 
Hdl,")*  the  Scripture  does  not  speak  of  such  a  place 

Nor  is  such  a  place  necessary.  Heaven  is  the  abode 
of  blessed  spirits,'and  hell  of  lost  spirits ;  an  the.  .s- 
unfitness  in  a  disincorporated  soul  ^r  such  an  abode 
Besides  what  is  a  spirit  ?  Does  a  sp.nt  occupy  space  . 
?s  heaveu  or  hell  an  extent  of  space  ?  These  are  ques- 
IS  neavBu  w  •«  __,„i,:«v,  the  most  msenious 

tions  not  readily  answered, « which  the  mo.T 
„>inds  have  pondered   without  satisfaction      But   we 
know  that  heaven  is  a  *tate  of  happiness,  hell  »  «<«««  °' 
mi  ery      Is  the  happiness  of  the  justified  soul,  which 
misery.     ^  rr  diiferent  from  that  ot 

lies  in  the  enjoyment  of  God,  so  d^nere 
^  holy  angels,  that  they  cannot  enjoy J^--'^ 
ffether-'     May  not  a  miserable  soul  be  miserable 
Sn   ■  Ch.  Jhas  gone  to  heaven,  and,  therefore,  when 

»  Which  see,  Vol.  I.  p-  395- 


11 


Lect.  XX VII.]      THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.        103 

a  Christian  departs  to  be  with  Christ,  he  must  go  at 
once  to  heaven  ;  w^hile  the  wicked  depart,  accursed, 
"  into  the  *  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and 
his  angels."  Hence  the  Catechism  makes  the  believer 
confidently  say,  "  My  soul,  after  this  life,  shall  be  im- 
mediately taken  up  to  Christ  its  head." 

Secondly  :  What  will  become  of  the  body  after 
death  ? 

The  Catechism  bids  each  of  us  answer :  "  This,  my 
body,  being  raised  by  the  power  of  Christ,  shall  be  re- 
united with  my  soul,  and  made  like  unto  the  glorious 
body  of  Christ." 

Here  we  should  note  an  unfortunate  error  in  our 
translation  of  the  Catechism,  which  is  also  found  in  the 
common  English  version  of  the  creed.  In  all  other 
versions  of  the  creed,  whatever  be  the  language,  it  is 
"the  resurrection  of  the  j^e»A,"  not  "of  the  bodyT 
The  variation  is  to  be  lamented,  as  it  defeats  one  design 
of  the  article,  which  was  to  assert  the  resurrection  of 
our  self-same  bodies,  in  opposition  to  such  heretics  as, 
following  Origen,  contended  that  at  the  resurrection 
we  shall  receive  phantasms  or  unsubstantial  semblances 
of  our  present  bodies,  or  forms  in  some  way  not  the 
same.  Our  Catechism,  in  its  original  German,  and 
also  in  the  Dutch  translation,  preserves  the  w^ord 
fienh  ;  f  and,  in  the  answer  before  us,  it  is,  "  This  my 
flesh''^;  so  the  error  is  inexcusable. 

I.  The  body  after  death  is  dissolved  according  to  the 
original  sentence :  "  Dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  shalt 
thou  return."  This  we  know  by  too  painful  experi- 
ence.    What  process  the  bodies  of  the  wicked  will  go 

•  The  article  is  definite. 

t  Mijn  vleesch.     Ger.,  tnein  feisch. 


104       THE  KESURRECT«P  Of-  THE  BODY.     [Leot.  XXVIL 

through  while  in  dissohttion,  we  are  not  told,  though, 
doubttess,  it  will  be  a  preparation  for  their  endurance 
of  punishment ;  but  we  have  good  reason  to  believe, 
thai,  during  their  long  sleep  in  the  grave,  the  bodies 
of  the  righteous  will  be  purified  from  the  corrupt  acci- 
dents of  their  present  mortality,  and  prepared  for  the 
«  exceeding  weight  of  glory  "  which  shall  come  upon 
them  at  the  resurrection.  ,     ,    ^  i 
II    For  the  body  will  be  raised  again  at  the  last  day. 
The  Catechism  confines  its  answer  to  the  resurrection 
of  the  believer,  but  as  the  article  itself  contemplates  the 
resurrection  in  general,  we  shall  make  that  our  subject 
1    As  to  the  fact  of  the  resurrection,  the  believer  ot 
Scripture  can  have  no  doubt.     We  have  already  seen 
how  prominent  a  doctrine  of  the  New  Testament  it  is 
and  we  trace  it  from  the  beginning  of  the  Old,  the  light 
increasino^  until  the  coming  of  him  who  is  "  tbe  1-ite. 
The  antediluvian  world  saw  the  bodies  of  men  crum- 
ble into  d«9t,  Imt  the  translation  of  Enoch,  body  and 
soul,  to  God,  proved  that  the  whole  nature  of  man  was 
destined  for  immortality.     Job,  whose  history  is  the 
most  ancient  of  the  sacred  books,  knew  that  h.s      Re- 
deemer lived and  that,  though  after  his  skm 

worms  destroy  his  body,  in  his  'flesh'   he  should  see 
God  "    The  miracle  of  Enoch  was  repeated  for  the  J  ews 
nnder  the  law,  by  the  translation  of  Elijah  ;   besides 
whicb,  there  were  several  instances  of  actual  resuscita- 
tion from  death,  as  of  the  Shunamite's  child,  the  child 
of  the  widow  of  Sarepta,  the  dead  man  whose  corpse 
touched  the  bones  of  Elisha,-and,  perhaps,  others. 
(See  Hebrews  xi.  35.)    David  avows  the  same  glorious 
hope,  when  he  says  :  "  My  flesh  also  shall  rest  in  hope  ; 
for  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell  ;  "  and  again  : 


Lect.  XXVIL]       THE  RESURRECTION   OF  THE  BODY.       105 

*'  I  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  with  thy  likeness." 
Isaiah  prophesies  of  the  uprising  of  the  saints  through 
the  victory  of  Christ  over  the  grave  :  "  Thy  dead  men 
shall  live  ;  together  with  my  dead  body  shall  they  arise. 
Awake  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  the  dust ;  for  thy 
dead  is  as  the  dead  of  herbs,  and  the  earth  shall  cast 
out  the  dead."  Daniel  is  very  explicit :  "  Many  (^.  e,  the 
multitude)  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth 
shall  awake  ;  some  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame 
and  everlasting  contempt."  But  the  great  proof  is  the 
resurrection  of  our  Lord  himself,  as  "  the  first-fruits  of 
them  that  sleep "  ;  whence  he  called  himself  "  the 
resurrection  and  the  life."  The  whole  gospel  turns  on 
that  cardinal  fact  as  opening  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ; 
so  the  apostle  says :  "  If  there  be  no  resurrection  from 
the  dead,  then  is  Christ  not  risen  ;  but  if  Christ  be  not 
risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also 


vam. 


>» 


2.  The  reason  for  the  resurrection. 

Omitting  several  minor  arguments  which  have  not 
a  little  force,  we  go  at  once  to  the  main  reason :  The 
justice  of  God  in  distributing  rewards  and  punishments. 
When  God  was  proceeding  to  the  creation  of  man,  he 
said  :  "  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  like- 
ness ;  "  and  so  he  "formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground, 
and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life  ;  and  man 
became  a  living  soul,"  or  person.  What  the  "  image  of 
God  "  was,  it  is  not  necessary  now  to  determine  ;  but  we 
must  believe  that  the  man  thus  created  consisted  both 
of  body  and  soul.  His  rational  soul  was  not  all  of  his 
humanity,  but  his  flesh  also  was  essential  to  it.  Nay, 
his  spirit,  unlike  that  of  an  angel,  was  specially  fitted 
to  inhabit  a  body,  and  act  through  it  and  with  it.     Not 


106      THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.      [Lbct.  XXVII. 

that   it  cannot   live  and  act  when  separate  from  the 
body    but  that  a  union  with  the  body  is  necessary  to 
m  tlWipleteness  of  its  vigor  and  action.     In  a  word, 
Z  man  is  not  entire  without  body  as  well  as  soul. 
This  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that,  when  it  pleased  our 
adorable  Lord  to  become  man,  or  assume  to  his  divmity 
«,f  humanity,  he  took  to  himself  not  oiily  a  reasonable 
soul,  but  also  a  true  body,  "  flesh  and  blood      like  ours 
AM  the  dealings  of  God  in  the  government  f/^^J'l'f 
reference,  therefore,  to  man  thus  compounded  of   body 
and  soul.     The  rewards  of  life  and  the  penalties  of  dis- 
obedience  were  proposed  to  man  thus  constituted,  and 
»ot  to  Mm  as  a  spirit  only.     It  is  true,  that,  as  the 
body,  when  separate  from  the  spirit,  is  not  conscious  or 
reasonable,   it  cannot  be  the  subject  of  moral  dealing 
except  as  it  is  connected  with  the  soul.     But  it  does 
Bot  follow  that  God  may  not  reach  the  soul  with  bless- 
incr  or  misery  through  the  body,  as,  mdeed,  we  know 
from  our  daily  experience.     For  there  are  not  a  few 
exquisite  pleasures,  as  well  as  pains,  derived  by  the  soul 
throucdi  our  corporeal  senses,  and  appetites,  and  facul- 
ties, Ind    sensations.      So    also    there    are    important 
duties,  a.  well  as  gross  crimes,  which  the  soul  cannot 
act   out    except   through   the   body.     It  is,  therefore 
obviously    fitting   that   man's    punishment   or    reward 
should  be   visited  on  both   his  soul    and   body.     I^ot 
llMt  the  soul  cannot  sufl^r  or  eivjoy  without  J^  body, 
lnH  it  cannot  so  inw*  as  when  in  the  body.    The  man, 
that  is  the- whole  man,  — man  as  he  was  created,  man 
as  he  lives  and  acts  in  his  present  sphere,  —  must  be 
the  subject  of  God's  full  judicial  dealing. 

The  facts  of  the  case  show  this.     "  In  the  day  thou 
eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die,"  was  the  threaten- 


[Lect.  XXVri.     THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.        107 

ing  of  penalty,  implying  the  opposite  reward  of  oppo- 
site obedience.  Man  sinned,  and  instantly  the  favor 
of  God,  which  is  life,  was  taken  from  the  soul,  and  the 
body  through  its  lusts  and  pains  became  at  once  its 
tempter  and  its  tormentor.  The  death  which,  unless 
averted  by  the  grace  of  Christ,  is  eternal,  passed  upon 
both  body  and  soul.  So,  also,  we  find  that  when  Christ 
undertook  to  expiate  our  guilt,  by  bearing  our  punish- 
ment, he  suffered  both  in  body  and  soul ;  for,  being  the 
substitute  of  man,  he  suffered  as  man ;  and,  also,  when 
his  satisfaction  was  complete,  he  was  rewarded  with 
glory  in  heaven,  ascending  body  and  soul  to  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father.  It  follows  inevitably,  that  those 
covered  by  his  suretyship  were  redeemed  both  body  and 
soul ;  not  only  their  souls  made  heirs  of  heavenly  bless- 
edness, but  their  bodies  also  destined  to  be  made  like 
his  own  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  death  must  have 
its  eternal  effect  on  both  the  bodies  and  souls  of  those 
out  of  Christ. 

Thus  the  truth  of  God,  neither  in  his  threatenings 
nor  his  promises,  can  be  fulfilled,  if  the  soul  alone  is  to 
exist  forever,  since  the  soul  is  not  the  man,  and  cannot 
alone  enjoy  the  rew^ards  or  suffer  the  penalties  which 
the  man  deserves.  It  may  be  said  that  in  reality  (the 
body  without  the  soul  being  not  conscious)  it  is  the 
soul  which  enjoys  or  suffers,  but  the  body  certainly 
enhances  either  sensibility.  God  is  omnipotent,  and 
could  make  the  soul  independent  of  this  relation ;  but 
in  doing  so  he  would  change  the  nature  of  his  creature 
so  as  to  take  from  him  his  full  humanity,  which  lies, 
not  in  his  soul  or  in  his  body,  but  in  the  union  of  both. 
If  the  soul  of  the  sinner  exist  forever  to  suffer  eternal 
death,  the  body  of  the  sinner  must  exist  forever  to  suf- 


ill 


108         THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.     [UcT.  XXVU 

fer  eternal  death  ;  if  the  soul  of  the  believer  shall  exist 
forever  to  enjoy  eternal  life,  so  must  Ins  body ;  m  a 
word,  the  whole  man  must  exist  forever.     Smce,  how- 
ever, the  body  on  the  soul's  leaving  it  does  dissolve, 
we  must  believe  that  it  is  not  annihilated  but  w.U  be 
raised  again  for  the  vindication  of  God's  ""f^^Jble  wojd. 
H  it  be  asked  why  the  organization  of  the  body  is 
suspended  between  the  time  of  the  soul's  departure 
TOtil  the  last  day,  and  not  cast  at  once  into  heaven  or 
hell, -we  answer,  that  such  a  disposition  of  it  is  evi- 
dently a  part  of  that  providential  economy  consequent 
«rf  the  mediatorial  system  in  Christ,  which  began  m 
our  world  with  the  first  promise,  and  will  terminate 
after  the  judgment.     It  is  for  Christ's  sake  that  we  are 
spared  to  live  in  this  world  at  all ;  and  there  are  obvi- 
ously many  moral  uses  of  natural  death,  intended  for 
us  to  take  advantage  of,  which  could  not  appear  so  far 
as  we  can  see,  were  man  removed  at  once  body  and 
soul  out  of  the  world.      But  when  all  these  tempo- 
rary ends  shall  have  been  reached,  that  justice  of  God, 
which  Christ  came  to  magnify  and  execute  (for  he  is 
the  judge  of  the  world),  requires  that  the  bodies  of  the 
dead  shall  be  raised,  and  the  whole  man  receive  the 
award  of  endless  life  or  endless  death.     So  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ  proves  the  final  resurrection  of  all 
iBm      He,  the  mediatorial  man,  was  raised  from  the 
dead  that  he  might  complete  his  mediatorial  office,  the 
consummation  of  which  is  the  judgment  of  all  men 
and  at  his  coming  the  trump  of  the  archangel  will 
raise  the  dead  to  stand  before  him  for  doom  or  bl.ss. 
8.  The  manner  of  the  Resurrection. 
a.li  wiU  be  accomplished  by  the  power  of  God 
The  texts  in  proof  «rf  this  are  so  many  and  so  direct, 


Lbct.  XXVIl.]      THE  KESUKKECnON  OF  THE  BODY.        109 

that  we  need  hardlv  cite  them.  The  reassembling  and 
organizing  and  animating  of  the  human  body  are  equal 
to  its  creation  ;  and  therefore  the  sacred  writers  dream 
not  of  any  other  foundation  for  their  behef  in  a  future 
resurrection  than  the  word  and  ahnightiness  of  God. 
''  Why,"  asks  the  apostle,  "  should  it  be  thought  a 
thing  incredible  that  God  should  raise  the  dead?" 
That  God  has  undertaken  it  is  answer  enough  to  all 
questions  of  its  possibility.  It  is,  however,  worthy  of 
remark,  that,  though  according  to  the  usage  of  Scripture 
when  referring  to  the  main  acts  of  the  mediatorial  sys- 
tem, the  resurrection  of  the  body  is  attributed  to  each 
of  the  three  person^  of  the  Trinity  (to  the  Father,  Rom. 
vi.  4 ;  to  the  Son,  John  xi.  25 ;  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Ephes.  i.  20 ;  Rom.  i.  4),  yet,  like  every  other  vitaliz- 
ing prerogative,  it  is  especially  attributed  to  Christ  as 
the  mediator,  or  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  his  Spirit.  It 
was  part  of  his  viceregal  office  to  bestow  life  or  inflict 
death  upon  those  put  under  his  authority,  that,  as  he 
will  be  the  judge,  so  he  may  be  the  executor  of  his 
own  decisions.  Thus :  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  The  hour  is  coming,  and  now  is,  when  the  dead 
shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God ;  and  they  that 
hear  shall  live.  For,  as  the  Father  hath  life  in  him- 
self, so  hath  he  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself; 
and  hath  given  him  authority  to  execute  judgment 
also,  because  he  is  the  Son  of  Man.  Marvel  not  at 
this,  for  the  hour  is  coming  in  the  which  all  that  are 
in  the  grave  shall  hear  his  voice  and  shall  come  forth  ; 
they  that  have  done  good  to  the  resurrection  of  life, 
and  they  that  have  done  evil  unto  the  resurrection  of 
damnation."  The  authority  to  judge  men  and  the 
power  to  raise  them  from  the  dead  go  together. 


no         THE  RESURKECTION  OF  THE  BODY.     [LeCT.  XXVU. 

6    So,  for  the  same  reason,  the  «im«  of  the  general 
resurrection  will  be  the  end  of  the  world.     We  are 
carefd  to  say  ijeneral  resurrection,  because  there  have 
been,  and  possibly  may  be,  part.cular  >-*«--/-; 
^rrection  as  proofs  or  preliminary  samples  of  the  grea 
revival.    It  will  be  immediately  previous  to  the  hna 
judgment,  and  when  the  execution  of  the  njed.atona^ 
U  is  about  closing.     "  I  will  raise  Inm  up     sa.d  our 
Lord,  »  at  the  last  day."    So  the  apostle :  "  At  the  la 
trump,  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall 
be  raised  incorruptible  ; "  while  they  winch     sha^l  re- 
oiain,"  that  is,  be  alive  at  the  time  (all  of  whom,  we 
W  reason  for  believing,  will   be  J-O'  "  ^^^^f »  ^ 
changed,"  and  "caught  up  .  .  •  ^-^^%^^  ^."'^r, 
the  Jr  "  (compare  1  Cor.  XV.  51,  52 ;  1  Thess.  .v.  15- 
17).     Again,  the  apostle  (1  Cor.  xv.  24)  havmg  spo- 
ken of  the  resurrection,  says :  "  Then  cometh  the  end 
Xn  he"  (that  is,  the  mediator)  "sl,all  have  dehvered 
up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father.        Thus  we 
see  that  the  resurrection  of  neither  the  nghteous  nor 
the  wicked  can  take  place  until  the  end  of  the  med.a- 

torial  kingdom.  n^,  •    u      u^«r, 

C  The  resurrection  will  be  mit-maZ.    This  has  Wn 

shown  ty  each  step  of  the  previous  argument         All 
that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  bon 
Of  God,  and  they  that  hear  shall  live."    So  the  apostle 
■i»the  Revelation,  "saw  the  dead  both  small  and  great 
rtand  before  God."     It  cannot  be  otherwise,  as  then 
the  judgment  would  be  neither  universal  nor  complete 
No  objection  to  this  can  be  taken  from  the  silence  of 
the  apostle  in  the  fifteenth  of  1st  Corinthians,  respecting 
the  resurrection  of  the  wicked,  as  there  he  is  treating 
specially  of  the  victory  over  death  vouchsafed  to  the 
rio-hteous  in  Christ. 


V 


LE(n\  XXVII.]   THE   KE8URKKCTI0N   OF   THE   BODY.  Ill 

d.  The  order  of  the  resurrection  is,  at  least,   sug- 
gested by  the  apostle,  when  he  says  :   "  Every  man  in 
his  own  order  ;  Christ  the  first-fruits,  afterward  they 
that  are  Christ's,  at  his  coming."     It  is  thus  probable 
that  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked  will  follow  that  of 
the  righteous ;  especially,  as  all  the  texts  which  speak 
of  them  both  put  the  righteous  first.     If,  however,  the 
righteous  have  not  the  precedence,  the  resurrection  of 
both  will  be  simultaneous  at  the  last  day.     There  are 
those,  however,  who  think  that  they  discover  in  Scrii)- 
ture  a  coming  of  our  Lord  (in  person)  and  a  resurrec- 
tion of  the  righteous  previously  to  the  end  of  Christ's 
kingdom ;  and  they  cite  in  proof  of  their  opinion  a  re- 
markable passage  in  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  verses 
of  the  twentieth  of  Revelation :     "  I  saw  thrones  and 
they  that  sat  upon  them ;  and  judgment  was  given  unto 
them;  and  I  saw  the  souls"  [or  persons]  "of  them  that 
were   beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the 
word  of  God,  and  which  had  not  worshipped  the  beast, 
neither  his  image,  neither  had  received  the  mark  of  the 
beast  upon  their  foreheads  or  in  their  hands,  and  they 
lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years.     But 
the  rest  of  tlie  dead  lived  not  until  the  thousand  years 
were  finished.     This  is  the  first  resurrection.     Blessed 
and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first  resurrection  ; 
on  such  the  second  death  hath  no  power,  but  they  shall 
be  priests  of  God  and  his  Christ,  and  shall  reign  with 
him  a  thousand  years."     That  there  is  difficulty  in  rec- 
onciling this  paragraph  with  other  Scriptures,  cannot 
with  candor  be  denied ;  and  if  this  were  the  only  place 
where  the  resurrection  was  spoken  of,  or  rather  were 
there  none  declaring  the  resurrection  of  the  righteous 
and  the  wicked,  we  might  infer  that  the  martyred  con- 


It 


112  THE  EESURRECnON  OF  THE  BODY.    [Lect.  XXVIl. 

fessors  of  the  truth  against  the  beast  (for  none  others 
are  named)  were  raised,  and  reigned  with  Christ  for  a 
period  described  as  a  thousand  years  in  heaven,  since  it 
is  not  said  that  they  reigned  on  earth.     Yet  tlien  we 
should   be  troubled  at  the   assertion  that  over  them 
'*  the  second  death  hath  no  power,"  since  that  would 
imply  that  all  who  were  not  martyred  for  resisting 
the  beast  were  liable  to  suffer  from  the  second  death, 
which  cannot  be  true  of  Christ's  other  most  numerous 
people.     No  ingenuity,  however,  can  rescue  this  pas- 
sage from  being  highly  figurative.     The  reference  to 
the  key  and  the  ehain,  in  the  first  verse,  cannot  be  taken 
literally,  and  our  ready  inference  is,  that  there  is  a 
mystical  meaning  here  which  the  fulfilment  of  proph- 
ecy will  make  plain.     The  whole  book  of  the  Revela- 
tion is  full  of  such  mysticisms,  and,  though  we  catch 
glimpses  of  the  truth  from  our  knowledge  of  other 
Scriptures,  no  one  has  yet  interpreted  its  prophecy, 
spiritually  or  literally,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  evan- 
geHcal  church.     Yet  Scripture  must  be  consistent  with 
Scripture ;  and  if  we  cannot  open  the  meaning  of  this 
passage,  we  can  at  least  be  sure  that  the  Scriptures 
which  literally  and  plainly  declare  the  time  of  Christ's 
coming  to  judgment  to  be  the  time  of  the  general  res- 
urrection speak  absolute  truth.     So  that  it  were  not 
wise  to  give  up  the  doctrine  of  texts  which  all  unite 
ill  saying  must  be  taken  literally,  to  follow  a  doubtful 
interpretation  of  a  few  verses  in  the  most  mystical 
book  of  the  whole  Bible.     All  should  agree  that  the 
plain  text  should  be  the  standard  of  interpretation,  not 
the  mystical.      It  is  not  consistent  with  our  present 
duty  to  enter  upon  questions  urged  by  those  who  adopt 
the  notion  of  Christ's  personal  reign  for  a  thousand 


LEirr.  XXVll.]     THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.       113 

years  on  earth  before  he  comes  to  judge  the  world ;  it 
is  enough  for  us  now  that  the  concurrent  testimony  of 
many  Scriptures  assert  the  resurrection  of  all  the  right- 
eous and  the  wicked  at  the  last  day.  For  what  saith 
Job  ?  "  Man  lieth  down  and  riseth  not ;  till  the  heavens 
be  no  more  they  shall  not  awake,  nor  be  raised  out  of 
sleep."  And  what  becomes  of  our  Lord's  own  words? 
*'  All  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the 
Son  of  God  and  shall  live,"  —  manifestly  all  at  the  one 
and  the  same  hour  of  which  he  speaks.  The  particu- 
lar instances  of  resurrection,  which  have  from  time  to 
time  occurred  for  special  reasons  of  providence,  do  not 
impair  the  general  fact ;  but  the  uprising  of  such  a 
multitude  as  the  martyrs  slain  under  the  fury  of  the 
beast  would  deny  it. 

The  change  in  the  bodies  of  those  who  shall  be  alive 
at  Christ's  coming  with  the  last  trump  will  be  simulta- 
neous with  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  being  for  the 
same  purpose. 

e.  Our  identical  bodies  will  be  raised ;  else  would  it 
not  be  a  resurrection  but  a  new  creation,  which  would 
defeat  the  end  of  the  resurrection.  The  Saviour's 
identical  body  was  raised,  so  shall  ours  be ;  for  the 
one  fact  is  inseparable  from  the  other.  According  to 
Scripture,  "  our  bodies,"  "  our  vile  bodies,"  "  our 
mortal  bodies,"  are  to  be  "quickened,"  "changed," 
"  raised."  So  says  the  apostle  :  "  it  is  sown,"  "  it  is 
raised."  The  self-same  thing  that  is  sown  will  be 
raised.  "  In  my  flesh,"  says  Job,  "  I  shall  see  God." 
Our  Catechism  is  decided  on  this  point :  "  This  my 
body  (or  flesh),  being  raised,  shall  be  reunited  to  my 
soul ;  "  and  so  say  the  confessions  of  all  orthodox  or 
evangelical  churches.     How  else  can  it  be  true  that 


VOL.  u. 


8 


! 


114       THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.      [Lect.  XXVII. 

ftU  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  come  forth ;  and  those 
that  sleep  in  the  dust  shall  awake :  how  that  the  dead 
shall  he  raised  ?     The  deadness  is  not  predicated  of  the 
soul,  and  it  cannot  be  of  a  new  body.    How  does  the 
believer  triumph  over  the  grave,  when  it  retains  its 
hold  of  his  true  body?     An   ancient  doctor  of  the 
church  truly  says,  that,  to  pretend  to  a  belief  m  a  res- 
urrection with  any  other  sense,  is  "  a  tnck  of  words. 
And  Josephus  (in   a  fragment  imputed  to  him)  re- 
marks, as  the  belief  of  the  Jews,  that  "  the  resurrec- 
tion is  not  a  migration  of  the  soul  from  one  body  mto 
another,  but  a  raising  up   of  the  very  same  body. 
Some  have  denied  this.     They  say  that  the  body  is 
H  changed."     But  change  does  not  imply  substitution, 
unless  when  a  thing  is  said  to  be  changed  for  another, 
which  b  not  so  in  this  case.     Our  Lord  s  body  was 
"chancred"  on  Tabor.     The  heart  is  "changed     by 
the  regeneration.     Change  does  not  destroy  identical- 
ness  but  only  transforms  to  another  fashion  or  appear- 
ance.    Again,  they  say  :    "  Flesh  and  blood  cannot  in- 
herit the  kingdom  of  God  ; "  but  the  very  next  phrase 
shows  that  it  is  corrupt  flesh  and  blood  :   "  Neither 
doth  corruption  inherit  incorruption."     The  corrupti- 
bleness  must  be  taken  away  from  the  body,  hence  the 
necessity  of  the  change  :   "  For  this  corruptible  must 
put  M»  incorruption ;   and  this  mortal,  immortahty. 
The  soul  is  neither  corruptible  nor  mortal ;  it  must, 
therefore,  be  the  body,  now  corruptible  and  mortal, 
which  shall  put  on  incorruption  and  immortahty. 

But  the  chief  difficulty  is  as  to  the  preservation  ot 
the  body's  identity  after  its  particles  have  been  scat- 
tered, and  many  of  them,  it  may  be,  made  constituent 
particles  of  other  bodies ;   and  sceptics  go  the  lengtU 


(  I 


Lect.  XXVIL]    THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.  115 

of  asserting  that  it  is  impossible  in  the  nature  of  things. 
But  let  them  first  define  what  identity  is,  and  show 
wherein  it  lies.     So  far  as  we  can  see,  that  which  con- 
stitutes the  identicalness  of  the  body  need  not,  and  we 
believe  will  not,  be  lost.     Our  bodies  are  continually 
Undergoing  changes  as  to  their  particles  ;  some,  indeed, 
say  that  these  are  entirely  changed  in  the  course  of 
years ;  yet  are  they  not  the  same  ?     Is  not  the  body  of 
a  man  of  fourscore  the   same,   or  identical  with  that 
which  he  was   born  with  ?     Is  not  the  mighty  oak, 
waving  his  branches  over  a  wide  space,  identical  with 
the  little  shoot  that  a  hundred  years  ago  peeped  out  of 
the  acorn?  nay,  with  the  germ  in  the  acorn  itself? 
What,  then,  constitutes  the  actual  essence  of  the  body, 
and  what  its  mere  accidents  ?     The  accidents  change, 
we   know ;  but   does  the  substantial  essence  change  ? 
If  a  man  loses  an  arm,  is  his  body  not  the  same?     If 
he  loses  eyes,  ears,  limbs,  every  part  that  he  can  lose 
without  losing  life,  is  he  not  the  same  man,  and  his 
body  the  same  ?     The  truth  is,  neither  identicalness  nor 
substance   have   ever  been  defined;   and  it  is  absurd 
to  object  undefinable  terms  to  a  plain  fact   of  Scrip- 
ture.    The  Jews,  and  the  Mohammedans  after  them, 
have  thought  that  the  identity  of  the  body  lay  in  a 
certain  indestructible  portion  of  it,*  a  germ  or  nucleus 
around  which  the  accidental  particles  of  the  body  were 
agglomerated ;  and  which  will  be  the  germ  or  nucleus 
of  the  new  body  at  the  resurrection.     The  ingenious 
Drew,  and  some  other  eminent  modems,  incline  to  the 
same   opinion.     This   is,    perhaps,   unnecessary  ;    yet, 
when  we  know  how  the  future  form  of  tl^^  plant  is 

*  This  the  Jews  called  the  bone,  Liet  {separation'^)  and  it  corresponds  to 
the  OS  coccygia,  or  cuckoobill-shaped  termination  of  the  sacrum. 


li 


i 


MS        TH»  BESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.    [Lect.  XXVII. 

hidden  in  its  tiny  seed,  or  of  the  animal  in  the  egg, 
we  can  see  how  very  possible  it  is  that  from  a  very 
small  portion  of  the  former  body  may  be  evolved  the 
lesurrection  body.  In  fact,  there  are  processes  every 
tour  in  nature  showing  exactly  the  Almighty  skill 
and  power  which  is  required  for  the  miracle  of  the 
resurrection.  It  is  sufficient  for  us  to  be  told  that  the 
body  will  be  raised  by  the  power  of  God.  He  will 
take  care  that  its  identicalness  will  be  preserved,  and 
that  nothing  will  stand  in  the  way  of  his  purpose. 
**  Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  that 
God  should  raise  the  dead  ?  " 

/.  Our  bodies  will  be  changed.     The  apostle  (1  Cor, 
XV.  35,  44)  illustrates  this  by  the  ordinary  process  of 
vegetatioB.     "  That  which  thou  sowest  is  not  quick- 
ened except  it  die."     Properly,  the  germ  does  not  die, 
but  the  husk,  and  other  substance  of  the  seed  about 
it,  corrupts  and  forms,  as  it  were,  the  manure  for  the 
vital  particle.     So,  "  thou  sowest  not  that  body  which 
shall  be,"— «.  e.  you  do  not  put  into  the  gi-ound  the 
stalk  with  its  leaves  and  head,  —  "  but  bare  "  or  naked 
"  grain,"  or  seed ;  "  but  God,"  after  it  has  been  sown 
and  has  germinated,  "  gives  it  a  body  as  it  has  pleased 
him,  and  to  every  seed  its  own  body."    That  is,  accord- 
ing to  the  arrangements  he  has  prescribed  for  himself, 
each  different  kind  of  seed  produces  its  peculiar  plant. 
A  grain  of  rye  does  not  produce  a  wheat-stalk,  or  a 
grain  of  wheat  a  barley-stalk.     "  So  also  is  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead."     The  body  sown  in  the  grave 
will  produce  its  kind,  or,  rather,  by  the  power  of  God, 
reproduce  itself,  but  in  a  more  enduring  form.     The 
transformation  of  the  wicked  is  not  described  ;  but  that 
of  the  righteous  is  depicted  at  length  in  the  aforesaid 


Lect.  XXVU.]    THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.         H7 

chapter  of  Corinthians,  and  elsewhere.     The  key  to 
the  whole,  as  stated  by  the  Catechism,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  fact  that  the  body  of  the  believer  shall  be  "  made 
like  unto  the  glorious  body  of  Christ."     "  Our  con- 
versation is  in  heaven,  from  whence  we  look  for  the 
Saviour,  who  shall  change  our  vile  body  that  it  may 
be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body,  according  to 
the  working  whereby  he  is  able  to  subdue  all  things 
unto  himself."     The   body  of  the   redeemed  will    be 
like  the  body  which  Christ  now  has  glorified  on  the 
throne  of  heaven.     His  body  was  planted  in  the  grave, 
wounded,  dishonored,  lifeless;   it  was  raised  from  the 
grave  to  immortal  glory.     As  is  the  first-fruits,  "  so 
shall   be "    all    "  that   are    Christ's    at   his   coming." 
What  his  body  was  to  be  in  glory,  the  Lord  showed 
to  the  three  apostolical  witnesses  when  they  beheld 
him  transfigured  in  glory  on  the  top  of  the  holy  mount 
Tabor;  to  which  Peter  and  John  always  refer  when 
they  speak  of  having  "  beheld  his  glory."     So  again 
the  apostle  Paul :  "  As  we  have  bonie  the  image  of  the 
earthy  (the  first  Adam),  we  shall  also  bear  the  image 
of  the  heavenly  (the  second  Adam)."     The  celestial 
body  will  differ  from  the  terrestrial  body  correspon- 
dently  as  the  sphere  of  its  celestial  activity  differs  from 
that  of  its  terrestrial  life.     Christ  was  like  us  in  all 
points  except  sin,  and,  because  he   had  no  sin,  and 
because  he  had  expiated  sin,  his  body  "  did  not  see 
corruption ; "  but  in  every  other  respect  we  shall  be 
changed  from  what  we  are   to  what  he  is.     So  the 
apostle :  "  It  is  sown  in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  in- 
corruption  ;  it  is  sown  in  dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory ; 
it  is  sown  in  weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power ;  it  is  sown 
a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body." 


■Iii'f^iirr.ili   i|    "  ■■"T" 


118  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.    [Lkct.  XXVII. 

Let  us  resume  these  particulars  r  .«*  It  is  raised  in 
incorruption."     The  curse  of  sin  being  taken  away, 
and  the   body  fully  purged  of  its  mortal   tendencies, 
shall  never  more  know  pain  or  sickness  or  decay,  but 
shall  live  immortally  pure  and  fresh.     "  It  is  raised  in 
glory."     Death  is  a  dishonor,  the  proof  of  cursedness ; 
but  glory,  the  full  presence,  favor,  and  light  of  God, 
will  be  the  portion   of  his   children   ransomed  from 
shame    by   the   merit   of  Christ.      "  It   is   raised  in 
power."    All  its  former  weakness  shall  be  left  behind 
in  the  grave,  and  in  their  place  it  shall  be  endowed 
with  untiring  vigor  and  a  divine  energy.     "  It  is  raised 
a  spiritual  body."     The  phrase  is  at  first  sight  contra- 
dictory of  itself.      Spirit  seems  to  be  the  opposite  of 
matter.     Yet  the  body  continues  substantial  while  it 
becomes   spiritual.     The  apostle's   meaning,  however, 
evidently  is,  that,  losing  the  grossness  which  it  has  by 
our  present  nature,  it  partakes,  in  ethereality  and  purity, 
of  spirit.      As  in   the   transfiguration   of  Christ   the 
Divine  Spirit  within  him  shone  through  his  physical 
frame,  pervading  it  with  heavenly  lustre,  and  making 
it  like  itself  in  a  common  glory,  so  the  body  of  the 
believer,  no  longer  a  prison-house,  hindering,  oppress- 
ing, and  animalizing  the  soul,  shall  be  permeated,  filled 
in^very  part,  and  beaming  outwardly  with  the  Godlike 

Spirit. 

For,  consider  how  this  body  will  be  derived :  not 
from  physical  generation,  but  from  the  immediate  power 
of  God.  How  it  will  be  sustained :  not  by  food  and 
drink,  but  the  immediate  favor  of  God.  How  it  will 
be  employed  :  not  in  labor,  as  here,  consequent  upon  its 
natural  necessities,  but  in  the  holy  service  of  God. 
Hence   the  nature  of  the   spiritual    change.      They 


LECT.XXVn.]    THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY. 


119 


*'  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are  as 
the  angels  of  God,  being  the  children  of  God."  They 
"  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more."  They 
are  never  weary,  and  "  no  night "  curtains  them  from 
the  resplendent  moon.  Their  activity  is  perpetual,  and 
they  feed  on  the  "  angels'  food  "  of  divine  truth  and 
love  and  service,  and  they  drink  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
"  the  pure  river  of  the  water  of  life,"  flowing  in  perpet- 
ual tide  from  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  Swift 
as  angels,  strong  as  cherubs,  ardent  as  seraphs,  glo- 
rious as  Christ,  there  shall  be  no  bound  to  their  action, 
no  limit  to  their  aspirations,  no  measure  to  their  energy 
but  the  nature  of  God,  in  whom  they  "  live  and  move 
and  have  their  being." 

If  the  bodies  of  the  saints  be  fashioned  after  the 
body  of  Christ,  after  what  fearfully  opposite  fashion 
shall  be  the  bodies  of  the  wicked  ?  If  everything  be 
taken  from  the  righteous  that  can  hinder  or  annoy  the 
jubilant  soul,  how  must  the  flesh  that  has  been  aban- 
doned to  sin  become  the  instrument  of  its  own  punish- 
ment !  —  strong,  only  to  be  more  sensitive  of  pain  ;  in- 
destructible, only  that  its  anguish  may  be  eternal.  We 
shrink  now  from  the  slightest  bodily  pain,  and  in  ex- 
tremity of  suffering  look  to  death  as  a  relief;  but  no 
death  blesses  the  damned  immortal.  See  in  the  pains 
of  men  here  the  fruit  of  sin,  in  the  diseases  and  de- 
formities that  follow  intemperance  and  lust, — how  vice 
reacts  upon  the  transgressor;  yet  here  God  is  long- 
suffering  and  waits  to  be  gracious.  What  must  that 
death,  that  pain,  that  disease  be,  which  shall  punish  the 
sinner,  when  God  withdraws  his  restraining  hand  and 
gives  the  retribution  full  sweep  I  O  who  among  us 
can  lie  down  in  everlasting  burning  ?  "  Where  their 
worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched  !  " 


J 


J™,j(«lifiidl,,  fl«».iS*S!Lf  s:':-»li^  • 


is^ 


i    'It  i 


! 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.     [Lect.  XXVU. 

First  :  The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  should  fill 
the  believer  with   lively  joy.      So  it  affected  all   the 
apostles.     Then  only  do  they  enter  upon  the  full  frui- 
tion of  eternal  life,  and  obtain  a  perfect  victory  over 
sin  and  death  and  hell.    We  do  believe  that  "  the  souls 
of  the  righteous  at  their  death  immediately  pass  into 
gjQjytf .  Ijljt  the  soul  is  not  all  of  man,  and  his  body 
is  necessary  to  his  completeness.      We  are  forced  to 
complain  of  the  body  now  as  a  clog,  a  temptation,  and 
a  tormentor ;  but  it  is  so  only  because  it  is  a  "  body 
of  sin  and  death."     The  body  was  intended  as  a  ser- 
vant and  helpmate  to  the  soul,  to  aid  its  perceptions,  to 
minister  to  its  pleasure,  to  act  out  its  purposes.     Man  is 
thus  more  wonderful  than  the  angel,  and  of  larger  and 
more  varied  sphere  ;  for  he  unites  in  his  own  person  the 
two  grand  departments  of  creation, — spirit  and  matter. 
He  was  formed  to  derive  his  happiness  and  his  m^fins 
of  glorifying  God  from  both.  He  can  neither  know  God, 
nor  serve  him,  nor  enjoy  him  so  well,  without  his  body 
as  he  can  with  it,  if  sin  and  its  effects  be  taken  away. 
Therefore  should  we  earnestly  desire  and  long  for  that 
blessed  day  when  our  bodies  shall  again  be  made  pure, 
more  glorious  than  in  their  first  creation,  and  safe  in 
their  spiritual   youth  forever.     Like  the   apostle,  we 
should  pray  for  deliverance  from  the  "  body  of  sin  and 
death" ;  but  also,  like  him,  "  expect  with  uplifted  head  '* 
the  full  restoration  of  our  humanity  to  the  image  of 
God;   as  Paul   says,  after  speaking  of  our  transitory 
afflictions  and  the  "far  more   exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory  " :  "  We  know,  that,  if  our  earthly  house 
of  this  tabernacle  (cricrjvr],  tent,  as  of  a  pilgrim)  were  dis- 
solved, we  have  a  building  (oikoSo/a^,  an  edifice,  or  per- 
manent structure)  of  God  (ck  ®€ov^  from  God),  a  house 


lkct.  xxvh.]    the  resurrection  of  the  body.      121 

not  made  with  hands,'  eternal  in  the  heavens;  for  in 
this  we  groan,  earnestly  desiring  to  be  clothed  upon  with 
our  house  which  is  from  heaven,  if  so  be  that  being 
clothed  we  shall  not  be  found  naked.  For  we  that  are 
in  this  tabernacle  do  groan,  being  burdened;  not  for 
that  we  would  be  unclothed  but  clothed  upon,  that 
mortality  might  be  swallowed  up  of  life."  So  in  another : 
"  We  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves,  waiting  for  the 
adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemption  of  the  body."  The 
resurrection  completes  the  adoption,  because  only  then 
the  whole  man  is  restored  in  blessing  to  his  Father's 
heavenly  house.  Thanks!  Thanks!  "Thanks  be 
unto  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ !  "  But  oh  !  how  careful  should  we  be  to 
preserve  from  shame  and  pollution  here  the  temple  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  destined  to  such  glory  here- 
after I 

What  a  glorious  assembly  will  surround  the  throne 
of  our  once  crucified  but  now  exalted  Redeemer  ! 
What  a  horrible  crowd  of  sufferers  there  will  be  of 
those  who  served  to  the  evil  pleasures  of  the  flesh ! 

Gather  us,  O  God  of  love,  with  thy  people.   Amen  I 

The  third  head  is  included  by  the  next  article,  "  The 
Life  Everlasting,"  and  will  be  treated  in  our  study  of 
the  58th  Question  and  Answer. 


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LECTURE  XXVIII. 


THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING. 


IIbi" 
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,. 


TWENTY-SECOND   LORD'S   DAY. 
THE    LIFE     EVERLASTING. 

TN  our  last  lecture,  following  the  Catechism  on  what 

■^  occurs  to  the  believer  "after  this  life,"  we  proposed 

to  inquire 

First  :    What  becomes  of  the  soulf 

Secondly  :    What  becomes  of  the  body  ? 

Thirdly  :   What  will  be  the  final  state  of  toth  body 

and  soul? 

The  first  and  second  inquiries  we  answered  so  far  as 
God  gave  us  help.     It  now  remains  for  us  to  answer 

Thirdly  :  What  will  be  the  final  or  eternal  state  of 
both  body  and  soul  f 

This  we  reserved  for  our  discussion  of  the  article  of 
The  Life  Everlasting,  when  his  body  and  soul 
being  inseparably  reunited,  the  redeemed  man  shall  be 
perfect  and  perfectly  blessed. 

A  more  delightful  subject  of  pious  meditation  cannot 
be  found  in  all  the  range  of  Christian  truth.  It  fitly 
crowns  the  noble  symbol  of  our  holy  catholic  evangeli- 
cal faith ;  for  eternal  life  is  the  consummation  of  God's 
eternal  purpose  concerning  his  church,  the  great  end 
for  which  he  sent  his  only-begotten  Son  to  be  our  Sav- 
iour, the  full  reward  of  the  Redeemer's  mediatorial 
work,  the  triumph  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  sanctifying 
grace,  and  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  Christian's  de- 
siring hope.  Yet  should  we  not  approach  it  rashly,  but 
inquire  of  the  holy  oracle  with  reverent  caution  and 
humble  faith  ;  for  our  knowledge  of  things  eternal  and 


126  THE  UFE  EVERLASTING.       [Lect.  XXVIII. 

heavenly  must  in  this  life  be  poor  and  weak,  nor  ought 
we  to  venture  a  single  step  beyond  what  ^^  farlj  re- 
waled  by  him  who  inhabiteth  eternity.      All  that^t  is 
profitable  for  us  to  know,  he  has  taught  us  m  his  Word, 
and  what  he  has  not  taught  us,  it  is  profane  to  guess. 
The  apostle  Paul  had  a  miraculous  vision  of  heaven, 
but  declared  that  it  was  "  not  lawful  for  him  to  utter 
what  he  there  heard;    and   our   Catechism  cites  his 
words,  himself  quoting  from  the  prophet  Isaiah  (Ixiv. 
4^ :  "  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man  the  things  which  God 
hath  prepared  for  them  lliat  love  him     (1  Cor.  ii.  y> 
We  can  now  see  only  through  a  glass,  mercifully  shaded 
for  our  feeble  sight,  but  the  dim  perception  exceeds  the 
bricrhtest  glory  of  earth  and  time.     Indeed,  were  there 
Bo'other  proof  that  the  Bible  came  from  God  the  de- 
scription  which  it  gives  of  the  blessedness  of  heaven 
would  be  enough,  so  far  does  it  transcend  the  bftiest 
achievements  of  human  genius.     Let  us,  then,  take  our 
stand  on  the  Pisgah  of  promise,  and  strive  to  catch 
through  the  mists  that  hang  over  the  stream  of  death 
some  crhmpses  of  Beulah,  the  beautiful  land,  and  ot  the 
Jerusalem  in  the  midst  of  it,  where  is  our  inheritance, 
^  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  re- 
served "  for  those  "  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God 
Arongli  faith  unto  salvation."      There  Jesus  the  fore- 
runner hath  for  us  entered,  and  thither  the  light  stream- 
inc.  down  through  the  rent  vail  will  guide  all  his  people. 
The  contemplation  will,  by  the  grace  of  the  Spirit,  in- 
crease our  love  to  God,  our  zeal  in  his  service,  our  pa- 
tience under  his  discipline,  and  our  strength  for  the 
honorable  burdens  of  duty. 

The  Catechism   (after   Scripture)   asserts  of  "the 


Lbot.  XXVIII.]        THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING. 


127 


life  everlasting "  three  things,  the  order  of  which,  for 
logical  convenience,  we  may  change  :  — 

I.  That  it  is  the  perfection  of  salvation,  the  fulness 
of  which  no  mortal  mind  can  comprehend. 

"  After  this  life,  I  shall  inherit  eternal  salvation, 
which  eye  hath  not  seen,"  &c. 

II.  That  a  principal  part  of  this  blessedness  will  con- 
sist in  glorifying  God. 

"  And  that  to  praise  God  therein  forever." 

III.  That  the  Christian  has  the  beginning  of  it  in 
this  world. 

"  I  now  feel  in  my  heart  the  beginning  of  eternal 

joy-" 

Before  entering  upon  these  heads,  let  us  ascertain  the 
Scriptural  uses  of  the  term  "  life,"  which  are  three  : 
the  vital  principle ;  the  duration  of  animated  existence ; 
the  enjoyment  of  divine  favor. 

A.  What  the  vital  principle,  or  that  which  gives  vigor 
to  organized  being,  is,  no  skill  of  man  has  been  able  to 
define  or  discover.  It  seems  as  if  the  Author  of  life 
had  thrown  around  it  inscrutable  mystery;  but  that 
there  is  a  principle,  without  which  the  most  perfect 
organization  were  inert,  and  losing  which  would  dis- 
solve, is  evident ;  and  this  is  called  life.  Life  holds  the 
organization  together,  and  maintains  in  exercise  its  ap- 
propriate functions.  Thus  we  read :  "  The  Lord  God 
formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed 
into  his  nostrils  the  breath  •  of  life  "  (Hebrew,  lives). 
The  body,  with  all  its  wonderful  anatomy  complete, 
was  formed  out  of  dust ;  it  was  in  appearance  and  real- 
ity a  human  body ;  but  it  was  not  a  living  body  ;  the 
several  parts  of  its  exquisite  machinery  were  still  and 
insensible ;  there  was  no  motive  power,  no  pervading 


il 


128 


THE  LIFE  EVERLA.STING.        [Lect.  XXVIll. 


Lbct.  XXVIII.]         THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING. 


129 


t4 
if 
n 


energy,  until  God  inspired  it  with  life :  then  all  began 
to  act ;  the  man  was  alive  ;  he  had  become  "  a  living 
soul,"  or  person.*      The  breath  was  not  the  life,  but 
life  gave  the  power  of  breathing  the  air  essential  to  its 
support,  though  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  inspiration 
of  breath  by  the  power  of  God  gave  the  first  impulse 
to  the  respiratory  organs.     Man  became  a  living  soul ; 
but  even  should  we  believe  that  soul  refers  absolutely 
to  the  spiritual  part  of  man's  nature,  which  he,  un- 
doubtedly, at  that  moment  received,  we  must  not  sup- 
pose that  the  soul  was  the  animating  principle,  since 
other  animals  have  corporeal  life  in  common  with  man ; 
nor  can  we  discover  any  difference  between  animal  life 
ill  man  and  .in  the  brute.     There  was  thus  a  life,  not 
arisino-  from  the  corporeal  organization,  but  communi- 
cated subsequently  to  its  having  been  formed  out  of  the 
dust.     The  soul  being  infused  at  the  same  moment  that 
the  animal  life  was  given,  the  man  in  his  double  nature, 
body  and  soul,  was  complete  ;  but  the  animating  prin- 
ciple, or  life,  was  not  either  body  or  soul,  nor  was  it 
consequent  upon  the  union  of  the  two,  but  something 
distinct  from  both  ;  yet,  according  to  the  constitution  of 
man,  holding  them  together  ;  so  that  should  the  life  be 
withdrawn,  the  union  of  body  and  soul  is  dissolved, 
and  the  body  returns  to  its  dust.     It  follows  that,  if  the 
force  of  life  be  in  any  degree  impaired,  the  acting  of 
the  bodily  functions  must  be  correspondently  hindered 
and  disordered ;    so  that  .weakness,  pain,  disease,  and 
altogether  the  present  tendency  of  our  bodies  to  disso- 

*  This  translation  of  the  Hebrew  term  is  justified  by  comparison  of  sacred 
Scriptures.  See  remarks  on  Soul  in  the  lecture  on  the  Descent  into  Hell. 
To  suppose  that  the  spiritual  soul  was  the  bi-eath  of  God  would  be  to-adopt 
the  theory  of  emanation,  which  is  opposed  to  the  Scripture  doctrine  of  univer- 
sal creation. 


lution,  prove  the  depravation  of  the  animating  princi- 
ple, and  that  death,  the  opposite  of  life,  has  begun  its 
work.      Thus,  when  man  sinned,  the  threatened  sen- 
tence of  death  passed  upon  him.      "  In  the  day,"  the 
self-same  day,  "thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely 
die."     Adam  lived  (in  common  language)  many  years 
before  his  actual  death,  but  from  the  moment  of  his 
sin  he  began  to  die.     What  we  call  death  was  the  fin- 
ishing of  the  mortal  process.      So  has  "  death  passed 
upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned."     The  resurrec- 
tion of  the  bodies  of  all  men  immediately  before  the 
judgment  shows   that   God,  when  creating   man,  in- 
tended him  for  a  never-ending  existence,  body  and  soul ; 
so  that  death  as  the  punishment  of  sin  cannot  be  anni- 
hilation, but  must  mean,  as  in  the  bodies  of  the  wicked 
afler  the  judgment,  such  a  curse  as  turns  its  qualities 
and  functions  into  sources  of  pain  and  misery  ;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  eternal  life  which  God  bestows 
on  the  bodies  of  the  righteous  will  be  an  indestructible, 
never-failing  vigor,  preserving  it  from  all  the  ills  that 
flesh  is  now  heir  to,  in  a  perpetual  youth,  symmetry, 
and  beauty,  —  nay,  doubtless,  continually  and  forever 
developing  its  pure  properties  and  enhancing  its  genuine 
delights. 

The  soul,  we  are  accustomed,  and  rightly,  to  consider 
an  uncompounded  spirit,  that  is,  without  any  articula- 
tion of  parts  such  as  constitute  the  substantial  body. 
Yet  we  have  melancholy  evidence  that  the  soul  may 
lose  its  healthfulness  and  justness  of  action,  nay,  be- 
come diseased  and  disordered  ;  so  that  it  is  not  pushing 
analogy  too  far  if  we  believe  that  the  soul,  also,  has  a 
life  other  than  its  spiritual  nature,  —  a  life  which  God 
gives  or  restrains  as  in  his  holy  will  he  chooses.     When 


VOL.  II. 


9 


i  '• 


j^30  THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING.       [Lect.  XXVIII. 

that  vital  energy  is  in  any  degree  withdrawiMhe  sou^ 
sickens,  is  disturbed,  and  wars  against  itself.  ihis 
death  is  the  penalty  of  sin,  now  operating  in  a  pai^ia 
manner,  but  after  the  judgment  having  its  full  effect 
on  the  conscious  soul  in  unspeakable  and  utter  anguish  ; 
so  the  eternal  life,  which  will  reign  in  the  glorified 
spirit  of  the  redeemed,  will  be  a  Godward  energy,  per- 
vading  all  its  faculties,  affections,  and  dispositions  with 
a  holy  strength  and  ever-increasing  delight. 

Nay,  we  discover  in  many  passages  of  Scripture  that 
there  is  a  life  peculiar  to  the  moral  being  of  man.    The 
effect  of  sin  is,  clearly,  to  deprive  us  of  power  to  do 
good.     We  were  utterly  "without  strength,     had  not 
S Christ  died  for  the  ungodly."     Our  -whole  head  is 
sick,  and  "  our  "  whole  heart  is  faint."    Hence,  we  are 
plainly  told  that  Christ  must  give  us  life  before  we  can 
aaain  ser^^e  God.   "  Awake,  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise 
fr^om  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light ;      and 
"  the  life  is  the  light  of  men."     The  quarrel  of  Christ 
with  us  fallen  sinners  is,  not  that  we  do  not  serve  him 
with  our  own  present  strength,  for  we  have  none,  but 
that  we  will  not  come  unto  him  that  we  may  have  life 
a  new  life  given  in  regeneration,  the  renewal  of  that 
energy  for  good  which  was  lost  by  the  foil,  though  in  a 
higher  degree.    "  I  am  come,"  saith  the  Saviour,     that 
thev  micrht  have  life,  and  that  they  might  have  it  more 
abundantly."    Again,  he  says,  "  I  give  unto  them  eter- 
nal hfe."     This  moral  revivification  is,  we  know,  im- 
parted  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  is  maintained  by  his 
dwelUng  in  the  soul ;  but  yet  it  is  the  effect  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  not  the  Holy  Ghost  himself.     There  can 
be  no  doubt  of  such  an  energy  being  wrought  in  the 
soul.     Call  it  by  what  name  you  will,  there  must  be 


Lkct.  XXVIIL]        the  LIFE  EVERLASTING. 


131 


communication  of  moral  ability,  which  we  have  not  by 
nature,  before  we  can  do  the  works  of  God;  and  this 
principle,  imparted  by  regeneration,  becomes  thence- 
forward and  forever  a  proi)erty  of  the  soul  itself,  be- 
cause it  is  the  free  unrevocable  gift  of  Christ.     It  is  to 
our  moral  nature  what  animal  life  is  to  the  body ;  and 
the  aforecited  texts  warrant  us  in  calling  it  life.     The 
animal  life  is  not  the  body,  but  pervades  it ;  the  life  of 
the  soul  is  not  the  soul,  but  pervades  it ;  so  the  moral 
life  is  not  our  moral  nature,  but  pervades  it.     It  is  be- 
gun the  moment  we  believe  in  Christ ;  the  believer  is 
conscious  of  its  genial  warmth,  though  here  it  struggles 
with  many  hindrances ;  and  after  the  soul's  admission 
to  the  presence  of  God  in  heaven,  it  will  be  perfect, 
unchecked,  exulting  in  every  pulse  of  the  sanctified, 
glorified,  Christ-like  heart. 

B.  The  second  sense  which  the  Scriptures  give  to  life, 
is,  the  duration  of  animated  existence.  Employino-  or- 
dinary phraseology,  the  sacred  writers  give  the  name 
life  to  the  period  of  our  existence  here.  "  What  is 
your  life?"  asks  the  apostle;  "it  is  even  as  a  vapour, 
that  appeareth  for  a  little  time,  and  then  vanisheth 
away."  So,  when  recognizing  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  we  say  that  it  will  live  forever,  whether  in  doom 
or  in  bliss;  though  eternal  life,  especially  and  emi- 
nently,  describes  the  unending  existence  of  the  right- 
eous in  heaven. 

C.  The  third  sense  which  we  note  is,  the  enjoyment 
of  the  divine  favor.  As  death  is  instant  on  the  wrath 
of  God,  so  is  life  on  his  favor.  We  are  also  accustomed 
to  call  that  which  gives  to  life  its  value  and  delight, 
life,  intensifying  its  sense.  Without  happiness,  life  has 
the  gloom  of  death,  and,  by  a  natural  figure,  that  which 


^g2  THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING.        [Lect.  XXVIIL 

confers  a  second  happiness,  even  the  favor  of  God,  may 
well  be  denominated  -the  life  of  life."  But  as  this 
sense,  being  rhetorical,  is  covered  by  the  former  two, 
we  speak  of  it  here  only  to  remind  ourselves  trom 
Scripture  that  there  is  no  true  health  or  bliss  or  moral 
goodness,  in  this  world  or  the  next,  that  is  not  derived 
Lm  the  favor  of  God,  which  can  reach  us  sinners  only 
throuMi  the  mediatorial  merits  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ. 
"  Witli  thee  is  the  fountain  of  life,"  says  the  Psalmist ; 

"  in  thy  light  shall  we  see  light." 

From  these  considerations  and  Scriptures,  we  leara 

what  are  the  elements  of  "  eternal  life,",  and  to  perceive 

the  excellence  of  the  several  statements  respecting  it 

in  the  lesson  of  the  Catechism  for  to-day. 

1.  The  definition:   "Life  everlasting"  is  '^ perfect 

salvation;'  the  fulness  of  which  no  mortal  mind  can 

comprehend. 

Man  came  from  the  Creator's  hand  in  the  possession 
of  perfect  life,  health,  and  full  vigor  in  his  body,  mind, 
and  moral  nature,  the  image  of  God  reflected  from  his 
soul,  and  securing  to  him  the  favor  of  God  and  a  cor- 
respondent participation  of  divine  pleasures.     So  in  the 
first  covenant,  which  was  between  God  and  man  im- 
mediately (i.  e.  man  himself),  there  is  no  promise  of  hfe 
to  his  obedience;  he  had  life  already,  but  only  a  threat- 
ening of  death  on  his  disobedience :  "  In  the  day  thou 
eate^t  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die."     Had  he  con- 
tinued obedient,  he  would  have  been  ever  in  harmony 
with  the  divine  character  and  will,  and,  consequently, 
with  the  divine  administration  of  all  things,  so  that 
nothing  in  himself  or  i&  outward  things  could  have 
impaired  his  powers  or  his  happiness.     Yet  his  life, 
being  contingent  on  his  own  merits,  could  not  be  said 


Lect.  XXVIIL]       THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING. 


133 


to  be  absolutely  eternal,  since  it  might  be,  as  it  was, 
lost.  When  he  sinned,  so  tmnsgressing  the  laws  im- 
posed upon  his  moral  being,  he  violated  that  harmony 
between  liim  and  God,  putting  himself  into  conflict 
with  the  divine  will  and  administration,  the  conse- 
quence of  which  could  be  none  other  than  destruction 
and  misery.  The  wrath  of  God  took  the  place  of 
God's  favor ;  the  laws  of  nature,  against  which  lie 
dashed  himself,  shivered  his  being  by  his  own  force 
against  their  irresistible  steadfastness  ;  and  drinking  in 
his  thirst  from  other  springs  than  those  of  the  divine 
pleasures,  he  could  derive  from  them  only  misery,  — 
since,  as  God  is  infinitely  blessed,  what  God  draws  no 
satisfaction  from  must  be  evil,  and  only  evil,  to  his 
moral  creatures.  Death,  therefore,  came  upon  man, 
not  only  from  the  adjudged  penalty,  but  also,  and  as 
a  providential  necessity,  from  the  eternal  nature  of 
tilings. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  sin  which  "  brought  in 
death  and  all  our  w^oe,"  involved  the  depraved  action 
of  the  entire  man.  His  heart  withdrew  his  aflection- 
ate  reverence  for  God's  parental  authority,  trust  in 
God's  parental  wisdom,  and  reliance  upon  God's  pa- 
rental care.  His  will,  following  a  perverted  judgment, 
chose  a  method  for  his  welfare  adversely  opposite  to 
that  which  God  had  proposed  to  him,  and  his  reason- 
ing was  as  untrue  as  his  heart  w^as  unfaithful.  His 
senses  were  abused  to  stimulate  a  wicked  lust  for  the 
thing  forbidden,  by  tampering  with  the  beauty  and  fra- 
grance and  relish  of  the  fruit,  in  the  eating  of  which 
he  proposed  to  himself  the  acquisition  of  an  ungodly 
knowledge.  His  hand  and  mouth  consented  to  put 
within  his  body  the  seeds  which  he  was  forewarned 


I  if 


134 


THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING.       [Lect.  XXVIIL 


Lbct.  XXVIIL]         THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING. 


135 


were  fatal.     Hence  death  came  upon  his  whole  nature, 
—  his  body,  his  spirit,  and  his  moral  faculties ;  because 
each  and  all  were  in  opposition  to  him,  who  is  the  only 
source  of  life  and  blessedness.     His  body  became  cor- 
ruptible, his  understanding  dark  and  erring,  his  heart 
depraved ;  all  at  variance  with  each  other  and  with  all 
the  order  of  the  divine  government,  because  at  vari- 
ance with  God  himself;  for  great  as  is  the  conflict 
which  the   sinner  enters  into  with   external  things, 
there  is  a  yet  greater  conflict  which  his  human  nature 
finds  within  himself;  — the  flesh,  the  judgment,  the 
heart,  his  appetites,  his  choice,  his  reason,  and  his  de- 
sires, no  longer  respecting  each  other's  safe  limits,  but 
abusing,  deceiving,  enslaving,  and  torturing  each  other, 
provoking  each  other's  vengeance,  and  accomplishing 
on  each  other  and  themselves  the  vengeance  of  God. 

The  full  execution  of  the  sentence  is  not  accom- 
plished, because  of  the  remedial  plan  proclaimed  imme- 
diately after  the  fall ;  nor  will  be  until,  after  the  resur- 
rection, the  mediatorial  Judge  will  complete  the  divine 
justice  upon  all  who  reject  his  grace,  in  their  eternal 
death.  But  even  now  in  the  restrained  degree  of  that 
wrath,  what  fearful  evidence  do  we  see  of  this  suicidal, 
general  war  of  man  against  himself,  and  man  against 
his  brother !  If  right  reason  prevailed,  his  desires,  his 
affections,  his  appetites,  would  be  all  controlled  by  the 
just  and  not  invisible  laws  which  God  has  set  for  them  ; 
now  itself  seduced,  its  perceptions  blinded,  under  its  de- 
praved bias,  reason  struggles  against  itself,  sets  its  inge- 
nuity to  defend  error,  pleads  for  crime,  and  justifies 
revolt  even  from  its  own  logic,  or,  at  a  loss  for  further 
sophistry,  abandons  its  royal  prerogative,  and  serves  like 
a  captive  consenting  to  degradation,  a  willing  slave  to 


the  imbruted  flesh.  Thus  erring  and  extravagant  be- 
yond the  limits  of  divine  rule,  man  blunders  and  entan- 
gles himself  with  the  interests  of  others,  to  which,  were 
all  faithful,  there  would  be  perpetual  accord ;  until 
envy,  fraud,  falsehood,  jealousy,  hate,  rapine,  and  mur- 
der break  the  securities  of  social  peace,  load  the  pain- 
ful earth  with  almshouses  and  prisons,  arm  nations 
against  nations  with  the  very  sulphureous  fires  of  hell, 
and  deluge  the  fields,  eager  for  harvests  of  plenty,  in 
floods  of  human  gore.  If  such  be  the  death  which  sin 
brings  upon  man  even  while  the  Saviour  pleads,  what 
must  be  its  horrible  throes  and  burnings  and  cruelties 
in  that  world  of  fiends,  where  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb 
will  abandon  the  world  of  human  transgressors  to  the 
unchecked  and  ever-increasing  fury  of  their  own  pas- 
sions and  eternal  hates. 

Now,  says  our  instructor,  eternal  life  is  perfect  salva- 
tion. It  is,  and  has  been  from  all  eternity,  the  blessed 
purpose  of  God  to  rescue,  through  Christ,  the  lost  sin- 
ner who  will  accept  the  grace  from  eternal  death,  and 
by  consequence  to  endow  the  penitent  believer  with  a 
new  life  ;  and  as  this  mercy  and  love  is  justified,  not  by 
any  merit  of  his  own,  but  solely  through  the  atoning 
merits  of  Christ,  so  its  perpetuity,  not  contingent  on 
man's  fallible  obedience,  but  bestowed  freely  in  reward 
of  Christ's  infinite  merit,  becomes  secure,  and  the  new 
life  is  eternal.  This  new,  infallible  life  is  more  than 
the  effect  of  pardon.  The  sentence  of  death  was,  in- 
deed, the  sovereign  act  of  God ;  but  it  was  also  in  en- 
tire, we  may  even  say  necessary,  consistence  with  his 
holy  nature,  and  holy  administration  of  things  ;  so  that 
the  mere  pardon,  were  it  possible,  would  yet  leave  man 
in  the  natural  deplorable  consequences  of  his  rebellion 


I 


III  1 atimm 


-tf 


136 


THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING.         [I^ect-  XXVIII. 


Lkct.  XXVIII.]         THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING. 


137 


! 


against  the  order  of  his  own  nature  and  the  laws  of 
the  universe.  Hence  there  must  be  a  restoration  of  hte 
from  God  to  man,  hfe  in  his  moral  being,  life  in  his 
soul,  life  in  his  body,  so  that  all  may  be  brought  into 
and  secured  in  a  vigorous,  harmonious  activity  and  de- 
light: vigorous,  because  maintained  by  the  divine  power 
of  the  giver ;  harmonious  and  delightful,  because  in  har- 
mony with  the  will  of  the  ever-blessed  and  gracious 

God. 

This  salvation  is  promised,  and  in  heaven  will    be 
accomplished  for  all  that  believe,  —  perfect  life  for  ^le 
moral  being,  perfect  life  for  the  reason,  perfect  life  for 
the  body.     There,  in  that  second  more  glorious  paradise, 
the  believer  shall  enjoy  life  immeasurably  more  abundant 
than  that  of  which  sin  has  robbed  us,  because  it  will  be 
wrought  in  us,  through  the  intercession  of  Christ,  by 
the  creative  energy  and  indwelling  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.     There  the  heart,  filled  with  the  love  of  God, 
will  forever  be  above  weakness  or  temptation  ;  the  rea- 
son, filled  with   the  light  of  God,  will   never  know 
shade,  bias,  or  error ;  and  the  body,  purged  from  all 
grossness  by  the  transformation  of  the  grave  and  the 
resurrection,  animated  in  every  part  with  ever-youth- 
ful health,  and  spiritualized  into  a  near  likeness  of  the 
transfiguring  soul,  will  forever  serve,  assist,  and   en- 
hance the  blessedness  of  its  immortal  spirit ;  and  the 
entire  man  be  so  perfect,  as  to,  be  perfectly  holy,  wise, 
and  vigorous,  but  not  so  perfect  that  he  will  cease  to 
ascend^'higher  and  higher,  expanding  more  and  more, 
enjoying  greater  and  greater  bliss,  because  more  and 
more  like  God.      Were  either  element  of  this  eternal 
life  withheld,  the  bliss  and  salvation  would  be  incom- 
plete.    The  purest  heart  would  suffer  from  an  erring 


or  a  weak  mind,  the  noblest  intellect  from  a  diseased  or 
feeble  body  ;  but  the  gospel  promises  the  perfection  of 
all ;  and  only  in  faith  upon  that  revelation  can  the  man, 
called  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  say,  as  he  looks  up  from 
the  sorrows,  infirmities,  follies,  and  sins  of  this  present 
world :  "  When  I  awake  with  thy  likeness,"  O  God, 
"  I  shall  be  satisfied^ 

Oil,  what  peace,  what  strength,  what  consciousness 
of  truth,  what  self-delight,  what  Godlike  energy  of 
thought  and  love  and  purpose,  shall  be  accounted 
worthy  to  enter  that  kingdom  on  whose  throne  Christ 
sits,  the  second  Adam,  the  representative  of  the  peni- 
tent, and  the  pattern  of  his  glorified  ones  !  Faint  are 
our  guesses,  because,  though  the  revelation  be  rich,  our 
sin-weakened  souls  cannot  take  in  the  glory.  "  Eye 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  have  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man,  O  God,  the  things  which  thou  hast  pre- 
pared for  them  that  love  thee  !  " 

But,  blessed  be  thy  name,  what  we  "  know  not  now, 
we  shall  know  hereafter  !  " 

"  No  sin  to  cloud,  no  lure  to  stay 
The  soul  as  on  she  springs  ; 
Thy  light  upon  her  joyous  way, 
Thy  sunshine  on  her  wings  ! " 

Nor  may  we  deny  ourselves  the  edification  and  happi- 
ness of  completing  the  contrast  of  eternal  life  to  the 
evils  and  miseries  which  sin  has  brought  upon  our 
fallen  race.  Man  is  essentially  a  social  being,  bound 
to  his  fellows  by  indissoluble  ties,  communicating  and 
deriving  happiness  or  misery,  as  righteousness  or  sin 
produce  their  effects  on  individual  character.  We  see 
what  sin  has  wrought  in  the  crimes  and  conflicts  of  the 
world ;  but  in  that  new  world,  among  the  ransomed 


iiu 


1S8 


THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING.  [Lect.  XXVIH. 


Lkct.  XXVIII.]  THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING. 


139 


1 1 


r  I 


R  ■ 


I: 


race  of  the  second  Adam,  the  personal  life  of  tlie  be- 
liever will  appear  beyond  all  imagination  more  grand, 
glorious,  and  full  of  rapture,  in  the  life  of  the  whole 
countless  company  I     Each  will  see  in  every  other  of 
his  Christ-like  brethren  the  image  of  his  own  God  ; 
the  same  exulting  consent  to  eternal  truth  ;  the  same 
adoring  love  of  the  ever-blessed  Trinity,  Father,  Sav- 
iour, and  Sanctifier ;  the  same  burning  zeal  of  service, 
thanksgiving,  and  praise  ;  the  same  beauty  of  form  and 
countenance,  radiant   as   Christ's  transfigured  on  the 
mount ;  no  sorrow  in  his  own  heart,  no  doubt  in  his 
own  mind,  no  weakness  in  his  own  flesh  ;  and  no  sym- 
pathy with  another's  pain,  or  pity  for  another's  error, 
or  yearning  over  another's  unbelief.      All  are  as  holy 
"  and  as  happy  as  himself;  and  as  they  move  each  after 
his  own  sanctified  will  on  the  various  offices  and  errands 
of  heavenly  duty,  there  is  neither  shock  nor  confusion  ; 
and  as  they  unite  their  voices  in  unanimous  joy,  there 
is  not  amidst  the  innumerable  chorus  one  discordant 
note  or  faltering  cadence  or  minor  accident.     There, 
there  shall  be  no  envy, for  all  shall  be  rich  in  God;  nor 
strife,  for  all  shall  be  satisfied.      Oh,  what  a  worid  will 
it  be  where   shall  be  no  sick-bed,  no  watcher  beside 
th©  helpless  sufferer,  no  grave,  no  mourner,  no  dread 
of  harm  to  those  we  love !  —  no  clamor,  no  wrong,  no 
murder,  no  battle  ! — but  peace,  like  a  cloudless  noon, 
will  fill  the  atmosphere  with  golden  radiance,  and  every 
spirit  overflow  with  love  and  joy  and  sympathy  of  per- 
fect bliss.     It  must  follow, 

11,  That  a  principal   part  of  this  blessedness  will 
consist  in  glorifying  God. 

"And  that  to  praise  God  therein  forever." 

The  most  lively  idea  we  get  of  heaven   from  the 


scriptural  revelations  is  that  of  a  vast  throng  of  glori- 
fied saints  and  radiant  angels  standing  around  the 
throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb,  singing  to  their  golden 
harps  responsive  and  symphonious  hallelujahs  ;  cheru- 
bim and  seraphim,  angel  and  archangel,  admiring  and 
applauding  the  divine  attributes  and  works  ;  ransomed 
sinners  joining  in  the  doxologies,  but  celebrating  in 
strains,  at  once  more  tender  and  exulting,  the  wondrous 
mysteries  of  redeeming  love,  which  brought  them  from 
the  depths  of  sin  and  shame  and  misery  to  the  height 
of  holy,  glorious,  triumphant  life.  Not  that  such  exulta- 
tions are  all  the  employ  of  heaven.  The  active  natures 
of  the  happy  myriads  have  other  faculties  to  be  enlisted 
in  the  divine  honor.  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  conceptions  of  man  to 
conjecture  the  methods  of  gratitude  in  which  they  will 
display  their  love  and  admiration  of  the  divine  Bene- 
factor ;  doubtless  there  will  be  many  and  various  ser- 
vices of  the  divine  will  in  that  exalted  sphere  of  truth 
and  holiness  ;  but  the  intention  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
to  teach  us  that  praise  will  be  the  spirit  and  motive  of 
all  the  heavenly  engagem.ents.  Now  and  since  the  fall, 
the  church  on  earth  has  been  struorglino;  on  against  sin, 
and  opposition  of  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil, 
hoping,  desiring,  anticipating,  praying  for  grace  and 
victory,  but  yet  not  in  possession  of  the  exceeding 
great  and  precious  things  promised  by  the  everlasting 
covenant.  Even  our  divine  Lord  and  example  in  the 
days  of  his  flesh  made  supplication  for  help  and  suc- 
cour with  strong  crying  and  tears,  while  for  the  joy  set 
before  him  he  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  sliame  ; 
and  now  maketh  continual  intercession  for  his  followers 
as  they  are  fighting  their  way  up  from  the  vale  of  tears 


; 


if 


,: 


•^^Q  THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING.        [Lect.  XXVIII. 

to  the  heights  of  the  celestial  Zion,  expecting  till  his  and 
tkeir  enemies  are  put  under  his  feet.     But  then,  when 
the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  have  all  reached  home,  with 
«  sonars  and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads  "  (vide 
Isaiah  XXXV.  10),  the  mighty  work  will  have   been 
accomplished ;  the  sword  and  the  shield  wdl  be  flung 
aside,  that  the  hands  may  strike  the  golden  stnngs,  or 
bear  aloft  the  victor's  palm.     There  will  be  no  more 
need  of  prayer,  for  the  Redeemer's  own  soul  wdl  be  sat- 
isfied ;  no  more  space  for  longing  desire,  for  all  shall  be 
filled  with  glory  :  faith  will  have  done  her  office,  and, 
standing  beside  the  throne,  point  backward  to  the  man- 
ger and  the  cross ;  while  hope,  calmly  leaning  on  her 
anchor,  will  look  onward  along  the  ever-opening  ages, 
spanned  by  the  rainbow,  and  see  naught  but  ever-in- 
creasing developments  of  perfect  life  ;  and  love,  having 
cast  her  crown  at  the  feet  of  her  Lord,  will  ask,  "  What 
shall  I  render  for  all  these  benefits  ?"  — and  memory 
will  recall  with  never-wearying  repetitions  all  the  lev- 
in o--kindnesses  of  that  redeeming  grace,  which  led  and 
sustained  and  comforted  the  pilgrim  all  along  his  weary 
way  to  the  rest  and  plenty  of  his  Father's  house.    Wide 
■  as  heaven  is,  strong  as  the  glorified  faculties  will  be, 
there  then  can  be  found  neither  space  nor  energy  for 
aught  but  praise,— praise  "forever  telling,  yet  untold." 
And  that  the  believer  may  be  assured  of  his  heav- 
enly inheritance,  he  has  the  earnest  of  it  even  here. 

IIL  He  feels  in  his  heart  the  beginning  of  eternal 
joy.  "  In  him,"  (Christ,)  says  the  apostle,  "  after  that 
y©  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with  that  holy  Spirit  of 
promise,  which  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance,  until 
the  redemption  of  the  purchased  possession."  Eternal 
life  is  given  to  us  the  moment  that  we  believe,  —  not 


Lect.XXVIIL]         the  LIFE  EVERLASTING. 


141 


the  fulness  of  life  everlasting,  but  the  actual  beginning 
of  it.  It  is  begun  in  feebleness,  like  the  life  of  a  new- 
born babe  ;  but  it  is  the  same  life  which  shall  animate 
and  give  celestial  vigor  to  the  man  made  perfect  in 
Christ  Jesus.  It  is  begun  by  the  indwelling  of  the 
same  spirit  which  will  irradiate  the  saints  on  high  with 
divine  glory.  It  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  implants 
the  image  of  Christ,  at  once  the  seal  and  sum  of  heav- 
enly perfection ;  as  by  the  Holy  Ghost  the  child  who 
now  sits  the  man  Christ  Jesus  on  his  peerless  throne, 
"  Christ  in  you  the  hope  of  glory."  Hence  it  follows 
that  there  must  be  correspondent  manifestations  in  the 
believer.  The  life  eternal  must  show  itself  in  the 
growing  change  of  his  whole  nature  from  the  death  of 
sin.  "You  hath  he  quickened  which  were  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins."  Thus  there  will  be  new  life  in 
our  moral  faculties.  "  Ye  are  his  workmanship," 
says  the  apostle,  "  created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good 
works."  This  is  more  than  persuasion,  more  even 
than  light.  It  is  the  communication  of  a  new  princi- 
ple. "  Ye  have  not  chosen  me,"  saith  our  Lord,  "  but 
I  have  chosen  you,  and  ordained  you,  that  ye  should 
go  and  bring  forth  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit  might 
remain."  It  is  the  blessed  purchase  of  Christ  for  his 
people,  and  his  gift  to  his  people,  —  the  purchase  and 
gift  of  him  who  died  for  the  ungodly,  and  those  who 
are  without  strength,  that  he  might  "  save  his  people 
from  their  sins  "  ;  and  this  he  does  by  sending  his 
Spirit,  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  beget  them  to  a  new  and 
holy  life,  which  though  begun  and  carried  gradually 
on  amidst  their  remaining  sins  and  infirmities,  he  will 
by  the  same  spirit  consummate  in  everlasting  glory. 
Hence  the  believer,  though  once  without  God  in  the 


II 


M2 


THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING.        [Lect.  XXVIII. 


world,  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  and  utterly  in- 
capable of  such   obedience,  his  heart  enmity  against 
God,  and  his  will  as  prone  to  evil  as  the  sparks  natu- 
rally fly  upward,  is  now  changed  in  all  his  aims,  pur- 
poses, and  desires.     He  loves  God  ;  he  lias  in  his  heart 
dl©  spirit  of  a  child,  and  is  conscious  of  a  strength  not 
hfs  own  to  do  the  things  he  loves  and  desires  to  do. 
His  love,  his  strength,  his  desires  are  not  perfect  as  they 
should  be ;  he  is  yet  compassed  about  with  infirmity, 
temptation,  and  sin ;  but  grace  is  in  his  heart,  strug- 
gling with  them  all,  and,  if  he  is  faithful  at  the  throne 
of  grace,  daily  achieving  some  victory,  and  makmg 
progress  to  his  final  perfection.     The  tide  of  his  soul 
has  chancred,  and  where  it  once  flowed  in  a  fearful  ebb 
downward  to  death,  it  now  takes  a  flood  toward  God 
and  heaven.     Every  believer,  not  perhaps  always,  or 
at  least  not  always  in  an  equal  degree,  is  conscious  of 
this,  and  he  rejoices  in  the  gift,  and  in  the  hope  of 
eternal  life,  of  which  it  is  the  earnest  and  the  assur- 
ance.    But  when  the  love  of  God,  the  law  of  God,  the 
glory  of  God  are  not  the  ruling  motives  of  our  present 
life,  when  the  direction  of  our  desires,  the  aim  of  our 
hopes,  are  not  toward  the  holiness  of  heaven,  we  have 
no  warrant  to  expect  that  we  shall  escape  the  bitter 
pains  of  eternal  death.     The  life  must  be  begun  here, 
or  it  will  never  be  ours  beyond  the  grave.     Faith  — 
faith  the  gift  of  God,  faith  fruitful  of  good  works  — 
alone  is  the  substance  o£  things  hoped  for,  and  the 
evidence  of  things  not  seen. 

As  with  moral  life,  so  is  it  with  life  in  the  under- 
standing.  We  are  by  nature  alienated  from  the  life 
of  God'' through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  us.  Sin  has 
depraved  our  judgment  and  distorted  our  perceptions. 


Lect.  XXVIIL]        THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING. 


143 


Whatever  reason  we  may  have  about  other  matters, 
(and  there  our  best  reason  is  full  of  error,)  we  have, 
and  can  have,  no  true  knowledge  of  holy  things.  The 
eyes  of  our  understanding  must  be  enlightened  before 
we  can  receive  divine  teaching.  "  The  natural  man 
receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they 
are  foolishness  unto  him ;  neither  can  he  know  them, 
because  they  are  spiritually  discerned."  There  must, 
therefore,  be  given  to  the  understanding  a  new  life,  an 
invigorating  principle  holding  the  faculties  together  in 
a  just  order,  freeing  it  from  prejudice,  prompting  it  in 
the  course  of  truth,  and  causing  it  to  rise  upward  to  the 
source  of  light.  So  the  apostle :  "  If  any  man  lack 
wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God."  Nay,  the  Scripture 
everywhere  characterizes  the  ungodly  as  fools;  and  fools 
they  are,  whatever  be  their  genius  or  attainments  in 
other  things,  when  we  consider  their  aversion  to  God, 
their  murmuring  against  his  requirements,  or  their 
fond  search  after  what  perishes  in  the  using,  and  brings 
death  on  their  souls.  On  the  other  hand,  the  effect  of 
religion  is  to  strengthen  the  reason  and  control  the 
judgment,  so  that  not  only  in  religious  matters,  but 
in  all  things,  the  understanding  is  improved  and  im- 
provable. "  The  entrance  of  thy  word  giveth  life,  it 
giveth  understanding  to  the  simple."  Within  the 
sphere  of  religious  ideas,  the  effect  of  the  new  life  is 
unmistakably  regeneration.  The  love  of  God,  the 
preference  of  eternity,  the  desire  for  the  Saviour's 
glory,  help  the  mind  to  turn  from  the  motives  of  self 
and  sin,  fill  it  with  dignified  aims,  and  surround  it  with 
a  healthy  medium  through  which  to  consider  things  in 
their  true  light.  Hence,  one  of  the  first  evidences  of 
the  regeneration  is  a  new  sense  of  the  divine  Word. 


144 


THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING.         [Lect.  XXVIII. 


Lect.  XXVIII.]  THE  LIFE  EVERLASTING. 


145 


It  speaks  to  us ;  we  are  conscious  of  its  bearing  upon 
us,  and  it  has  an  authority  wliich  we  cannot  resist,  and 
would  not  if  we  could.  We  see  the  shortness  of  this 
life,  and  look  through  il  to  eternity.  Its  precepts 
guide  us,  its  promises  strengthen  us,  its  doctrines  en- 
lio-hten  us  :  and,  above  all,  its  exhibitions  of  Christ 
and  his  person  and  his  love  charm  and  delight  us. 
It  is  the  beginning  of  that  knowledge  which  shall  be 
the  consummate  science  of  heaven.  But  where  there 
is  no  sense  of  this  new  vigor  in  Christian  understand- 
ing, and  the  revelations  of  God  and  heaven  have  no 
attraction  to  our  study,  we  have  no  evidence  of  a 
divine  life  in  our  souls.  So,  also,  as  the  passions  and 
appetites  warp  and  bias  the  reason  of  a  "  natural  man," 
urging  him  to  transgress  the  laws  which  God  has  set 
between  him  and  his  neighbor,  —  when  the  love  of 
God  rules  his  heart,  and  the  light  of  God  his  mind,  will 
his  life  be  virtuous,  honest,  faithful,  and  kind  in  all  his 
relations  to  his  fellow-men  j  and  he  who  does  not  find 
that  his  religion  moves  Mm  to  peace  and  justice  and 
kindness  and  charity  and  mercy  toward  his  fellows, 
has  no  warrant  to  expect  admittance  to  that  heaven 
where  all  is  love  and  mutual  joy  in  the  happiness  of 

all. 

As  for  the  animal  life,  which  has  been  so  greatly 
impaired  by  sin,  it  must  continue  in  its  course  to  the 
dissolution  of  the  grave.  The  vigor  of  eternal  life  is 
not  promised  to  us  until  after  the  resurrection.  Yet, 
even  now,  some  evidences  of  its  returning  power,  or 
at  least  the  methods  of  that  invigoration,  may  be  seen. 
As  sin  corrupts  the  body,  as  evil  passions  in  the  soul 
shake  and  undermine  its  power  and  health,  —  so  that  . 
even  heathen   moralists   taught   that  vice  is  its  own 


avenger,  —  a  faithful  observance  of  the  divine  laws  has 
ordinarily  a  most  beneficial  influence  upon  the  physical 
man,  not  only  in  restraining  it  from  excesses,  or  spar- 
ing it  from  the  exhausting  effects  of  immoderate  or- 
gasms and  the  fevers  of  impatient  lust,  from  the  inju- 
ries of  provoked  violence  and  the  rash  dangers  of 
headlong  passions, — but  also  in  husbanding  its  strength 
by  the  calm  virtues  of  continence,  temperance,  and 
good-will.  Human  life  has  its  limits,  beyond  which 
the  best  conduct  cannot  prolong  it;  but  no  one  can 
doubt  that  those  limits  have  been  greatly  contracted 
by  vice  and  violence  and  hereditary  taints  of  vitiated 
blood.  Were  the  world  inhabited  only  by  virtuous 
and  peaceable  people,  the  grave  would  not  so  soon 
claim  the  bodies  of  men.  So  he  who  does  not  learn 
from  his  religion  to  keep  his  body  under,  by  a  wise 
self-discipline,  who  wastes  the  powers  he  should  use  for 
God,  or  wickedly  impairs  them  by  his  indulgence  of 
secret  thoughts  of  crime  and  excesses  of  appetite,  can- 
not hope  for  the  life  of  heaven  when  in  his  flesh,  now 
abused  and  prostituted,  he  shall  stand  before  God  in 
the  judgment.  God  will  have  mercy  on  our  infirmi- 
ties, for  he  knows  that  we  are  but  dust ;  yet  whatsoever 
a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap.  "  For  he  that 
soweth  to  his  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption  ; 
but  he  that  soweth  to  the  Spirit,  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap 
life  everlasting." 

Let  us,  then,  daily  keep  in  view  our  eternal  life.  So 
shall  we  in  this  present  world  inherit  the  best  blessings 
of  earth,  and  at  last  be  full  of  joy  in  the  light  of 
God's  countenance !     Amen. 

VOL.   II.  10 


I 


i. 


M 


LECTURE  XXIX. 


JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OPENED. 


A 


TWENTY-THIRD  LORD'S  DAY. 

JUSTIFICATION    BY    FAITH. 

THE  DOCTRINE  OPENED. 

Quest.  LIX.    But  what  doth  it  profit  thee  now  that  thou  believest  all  this  f 

Ans.    That  I  am  righteous  in  Christ  before  God,  and  am  heir  of  eternal  Hfe. 

Quest.  LX.    ffow  art  thou  righteous  before  God  f 

Ans.  Only  by  a  true  faith  in  Jesus  Christ:  so  that  though  my  conscience 
accuse  me  that  I  have  grossly  transgressed  all  the  commandments  of 
God,  and  kept  none  of  them,  and  am  still  inclined  to  all  evil,  notwith- 
standing God,  without  any  merit  of  mine,  but  only  of  mere  grace 
grants  and  imputes  to  me  the  perfect  satisfaction,  righteousness,  and 
holmess  of  Christ;  even  so,  as  if  I  never  had,  nor  committed  any  sin- 
yea  as  if  I  had  fully  accomplished  all  that  obedience  which  Christ 
hath  accomplished  for  me,  inasmuch  as  I  embraced  such  a  benefit  with 
a  believing  heart. 

Quest.  LXI.  Why  gayest  thou  that  thou  art  righteous  by  faith  only?  ■ 
Ans.  Not  that  I  am  acceptable  to  God  on  account  of  the  worthiness  of 
my  faith;  but  only  because  the  satisfaction,  righteousness,  and  holi- 
ness of  Christ  18  my  righteousness  before  God,  and  that  I  cannot  re- 
ceive and  apply  the  same  to  myself  in  any  other  way  than  by  faith 
only.  '  "^ 

T^HE  lesson  for  to-day  demands  our  best  attention. ' 

It  gives  the  only  answer  to  that  question  which 
all  religions  have  sought  to  solve  :  «  How  can  man  be 
justified  with  God  ?  "  (Job  XXV.  4,)  by  setting  forth 
concisely  and  clearly  the  great  protestant,  evangelical 
doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith. 

God,  who  devised  and  executed  the  gracious  plan  by 
which  he  is  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  believ- 
eth  in  Jesus,  alone  could  declare  it.  It  is,  therefore, 
purely  a  doctrine  of  revelation ;  and  the  business  of 
reason  is,  simply  to  inquire  what  is  taught  concerning 


f  f'-ii 


I 


I 


JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH.         [Lect.  XXIX. 

this  way  of  mercy  in  the  holy  Scriptures,  and  espe- 
cially to  mark  the  relations  which  the  several  truths 
comprehended  by  it  bear  to  each  other. 

In  attempting  this,  the  wide  range  of  our  subject 
requires  us  to  imitate  the  conciseness  of  our  instructor, 
and  we  shall,  without  farther  preface,  follow  closely  his 
order. 

The  Answer  to  the  59th  Question  declares  The 
Fact  that  the  believer  is  righteous  before  God. 

The  Answer  to  the  60th  Question,  The  Reason 
why  he  is  righteous  before  God  to  be,  solely  because 
"  God,  without  any  merit  of  his,  but  only  of  mere 
grace,  grants  and  imputes  to  him  the  perfect  satisfaction^ 
righteousness,  and  holiness  of  Christ,^ ^ 

And  the  Answer  to  the  61st  Question,  The  Manner 
in  which  he  becomes  a  partaker  of  the  righteousness  of 
Christ  to  be  by  faith  only,  "  not  that  he  is  acceptable 
to  God  on  account  of  the  worthiness  of  his  faith,  but 
only  "  because  he  cannot  receive  and  apply  to  himself  " 
**  the  satisfaction,  righteousness,  and  holiness  of  Christ  " 
"  in  any  other  way  than  by  faith." 

The  whole  discussion  may  then  be  conducted  under 
two  inquiries: 

First  :  What  is  meant  hy  being  righteous  before 
God f    And 

Secondly:  How  the  Christian,  though  a  sinner,  is 
righteous  before  God? 

First  :   What  is  meant  by  being  righteous  before  Godf 

In  order  properly  to  understand  the  scriptural  state- 
ment of  the  doctrine  before  us,  it  is  necessary  to  re- 
member that  God  is  represented  as  dealing  with  the 
sinner  in  the  character  of  a  judge.  Hence  the  lan- 
guage is  that  used  to  describe  legal  transactions,  and  the 


Lkct.  XXIX.]       justification  by  faith. 


151 


terms  are  to  be  taken  in  a  forensic  or  juridical  sense 
(t.  e.  as  they  are  taken  in  courts  of  law).  Not  that 
God  patterns  his  justice  after  that  of  men  ;  for  in  the 
exercise  of  that  attribute,  as  in  everything  else,  his 
ways  are  infinitely  "  above  our  ways,  and  his  thoughts 
above  our  thoughts  " ;  but  he  graciously  condescends 
to  explain  his  truth  by  such  words  as  are  best  adapted 
to  our  capacities  and  habits  of  thought.  Hence  man  is 
said  to  be  under  "  a  law  ";  to  be  brought  "into  judg- 
ment "  or  trial,  to  be  "  condemned  "  or  "justified,"  to 
be  "  guilty  "  or  "  righteous." 

Justification,  in  this  forensic  sense,  is  the  opposite  of 
condemnation.  Thus  the  apostle :  "  Who  shall  lay  any- 
thing to  the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?  It  is  God  that 
justifieth.  Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?  It  is  Christ 
that  died  "  (Rom.  viii.  33,  34).  Justification  does  not 
make  the  person  who  has  been  under  trial  just  or 
righteous.  It  is  only  the  act  pronouncing  him  just  or 
righteous  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  ^.  e.  free  from  all 
charges  against  him.*  "  Who  shall  lay  anything  to 
the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?  It  is  God  that  justifieth." 
Yet  was  every  one  of  that  elect  personally  and  really  a 
sinner.  So  condemnation  does  not  make  the  person 
who  has  been  under  trial,  a  sinner,  unjust,  or  unritrht- 
eous.  It  only  pronounces  him  liable  to  the  penalties  of 
sin,  injustice,  or  unrighteousness.  "  Who  is  he  that 
condemneth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died."  Which  means, 
that  "  there  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are 
in  Christ  Jesus"  (Rom.  xii.  1),  because,  though  they 
are  actually  sinners,  Christy  by  the  interposition  of  his 
death,  has  satisfied  the  law  on  their  behalf,  and  they 
are  consequently  free  from  the  punishment  to  which 

*  See  Booth's  Reign  of  Grace. 


I 


Bt 


I 

I 


HJSHpiCATION  BY  FAITH.         [Lbct.  XXIX. 

they  would  otherwise  have  been  condemned.  So  noth- 
ing is  more  frequent  in  Scripture  than  distinctions  be- 
tween justification  by  the  law  or  by  works,  and  justifi- 
cation by  faith,  —  the  righteousness  which  is  of  the 
law,  and  the  righteousness  of  faith.  Thus  the  apostle : 
"  By  the  deeds  of  the  law,  there  shall  no  flesh  be  justi- 
fied in  his  sight  *'  (Rom.  iii.  20) ;  and  again :  "  There- 
fore we  conclude  that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith  with- 
out the  deeds  of  the  law."  When  using  the  term 
righteom,  he  says :  "  It  is  written,  There  is  none  right- 
eous, no,  not  one  "  (Rom.  iii.  10)  ;  and  in  Hebrews  he 
speaks  of  Noah  becoming  "  heir  of  the  righteousness 
which  is  by  faith  "  (xi.  7).  In  Philippians  he  declares 
his  desire  to  be  found  in  Christ,  "  not  having  his  own 
righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is 
through  the  faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is 
of  God  by  faith "  (iii.  9).  To  be  righteous  in  the 
sight  of  God,  as  the  term  is  used  here  by  our  instruc- 
tor, does  not  mean  to  be  actually  righteous  in  one's  self, 
because  he  says  "  righteous  in  Christ,"  but  to  be  de- 
clared, accounted,  and  treated  as  righteous  in  the  eye  of 
the  law  by  God. 

Now  the  law  of  God  is  twofold.  It  forbids  wrong 
deeds  under  severe  penalties,  and  requires  good  deeds 
with  promises  of  reward.  Righteousness,  therefore. 
In  the  eye  of  God's  law,  is  to  be  considered  as  twofold : 
negative,  freedom  from  wrong-doing ;  and  positive^  the 
doing  of  right. 

It  is  true  that,  in  one  sense,  not  to  do  right  is  to  do 
wrong,  and  to  do  wrong  is  not  to  do  right.  Yet  we 
mark  the  distinction  between  negative  and  positive 
righteousness,  because,  in  order  to  the  enjoyment  of 
God's  favor,  which  is  bestowed  only  in  reward  of  right- 


i 


Lkct.  XXIX.]  JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH. 


153 


eousness,  it  is  necessary  that,  besides  the  pardon  of  our 
sins,  which  but  frees  us  from  the  penalties  of  the  law, 
we  should  have  a  positive  merit  before  God  to  entitle 
us  to  the  rewards  of  the  law.  Thus  our  instructor 
bids  the  believer  say,  not  merely  that  he  is  "  righteous 
before  God,"  but  also  that  he  is  "  an  heir  of  eternal 
life." 

To  be  perfectly  righteous  in  the  sight  of  God  is,  to 
be  free  from  all  the  penalties,  and  entitled  to  all  the 
rewards  of  his  holy  law.  We  are  now  prepared  for 
our  SECOND  inquiry :  How  the  Christian,  though  a  sin- 
ner, is  righteous  before  God  ? 

And  under  this  head  we  shall  consider 

1.  The  reason  ;  and 

2.  The  manner  of  his  being  righteous  before  God. 
1.  The  reason, 

A.  It  is  not  because  of  any  righteousness  personally 
his  own  ;  for  he  acknowledges  that  his  righteousness  or 
justification  is  "  notwithstanding  his  conscience  doth 
accuse  him  of  having  grossly  transgressed  all  the  com- 
mandments of  God  and  kept  none  of  them,  and  his 
being  still  inclined  to  all  evil,  so  that  he  has  no  merit 
of  his  own." 

We  shall  not  stay  here  to  show  the  entire  absence  of 
all  righteousness  from  the  soul  of  every  living  child  of 
Adam,  and  our  entire  corruption  in  sin.  This  has  in 
former  discourses  been  argued  fully  before  you.  It  is 
sufficient  now  to  repeat  that  God  has  declared,  "  There 
is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one ;  "  and  that  "  by  the 
deeds  of  the  law  there  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  his 
sight."  Christ  Jesus  came  "  to  seek  and  to  save  the 
lost,"  "  to  call  not  the  righteous  but  sinners  to  repent- 
ance."     The  magnitude  of  that  provision  of  mercy 


354 


JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH.         [Lkct.  XXIX. 


Lkct.  XXIX.]  JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH. 


I 

I 


which  has  been  made  in  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  incarnate  and  suffering  for  us,  is  clear 
proof  that  there  can  be  no  salvation  for  us  by  our  own 
merit ;  for  "  if  righteousness  come  by  the  law,  then  is 
Christ  dead  in  vain  "  (Gal.  ii.  21).      Our  great  apos- 
tle Paul  knew  nothing  of  salvation  out  of  Christ.     He 
had  some  dreams  of  the  kind  while  yet  an  unbelieving 
Pharisee,  but  when  he  came  to  see  the  full  force  and 
wide  extent  of  the  law  of  God,  all  hope  of  saving  him- 
self died  within  him  (Rom.  vii.  9)  ;  and  after  he  had 
been  long  a  preacher  of  that  faithful  saying,  "  Christ 
Jesus  came  into  the  worid  to  save  sinners,"  he  still 
acknowledges  himself  "  the  chief  of  sinners  "  (1  Tim. 
i.  15).     Those,  therefore,  who  desire  and  think  to  be 
saved  by  their  own  righteousness,  must  go  elsewhere 
than  to  the  gospel  for  a  warrant  of  their  hope.     They 
have  neither  part  nor  lot  in  Christ's  salvation.     The 
Bible  has  nothing  to  do  with  them  but  to  condemn 
them ;  "  for  he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already, 
because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God  "  (John  iii.  18). 
B.  It  is  because  of  the  merit  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Thus  the  instructor  says,  "  God,  without  any  merit 
of  mine,  but  only  of  mere  grace,  grants  and  imputes 
to  me  the  perfect  satisfaction,  righteousness,  and  holiness 
of  Christ ;  even  so  as  if  I  had  never  committed  any 
sin  ;  yea,  as  if  I  had  accomplished  all  that  obedience 
which  Christ  hath  accomplished  for  me."     And  that 
this  language  is  in  agreement  with  Scripture,  is  clear 
from  wlfat  the  apostle  says  (Rom.  iii.  21-28)  :  "  Now 
the  righteousness  of  God  without  the  law  is  manifested, 
being  witnessed  by  the  law  and  prophets :   Even  the 
righteousness  of  God  which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ 


155 


unto  all,  and  upon  all  them  that  believe :  for  there  is 
no  difference  :  For  all  have  sinned,  and  come  short  of 
the  glory  of  God  :  Being  justified  freely  by  his  grace, 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  whom 
God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in 
his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness  for  the  remission 
of  sins  that  are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God : 
To  declare,  I  say,  at  this  time,  his  righteousness ;  that 
he  might  be  just  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  be- 
lieveth in  Jesus.  Where  is  boasting  then  ?  It  is 
excluded.  By  what  law  ?  of  works  ?  Nay,  but  by 
the  law  of  faith.  Therefore,  we  conclude  that  a  man 
IS  justified  by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law." 

We  have  seen,  that,  to  be  righteous  in  the  sight  of 
God,  is  to  be  free  from  all  the  penalties  and  entitled  to 
all  the  retvardsM  his  holy  law.     But  such  a  righteous- 
ness  the  Christian  can  never  obtain  for  himself,  because, 
as  a  sniner  who  has  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God 
he  has  not  only  forfeited  all  claims  to  the  rewards,  but 
has  become  obnoxious  to  all  the  penalties  of  the  law  • 
which,  as  they  include  eternal  death,  it  is  impossible  for 
him  ever  perfectly  to  exhaust.     Except,  therefore,  some 
other  method  of  justifying  him  than  his  own  righteous- 
ness  be  provided,  his  salvation  is  impossible.     Here, 
(blessed  be  the  name  of  Jehovah,  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost  I)  the  wisdom  and  power  of  the  mercy  of 
God  comes  to  our  help. 

Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  incarnate  in  our  nature, 
condescends,  according  to  covenant  with  the  Father,  to 
become  the  Saviour  of  the  sinner.  In  accomplishing 
this  blessed  work,  he  offered  himself  to  bear  the  penal- 
ties of  the  law  which  the  sinner  had  incurred.  The 
sacrifice  was  accepted  by  God  when  he  took  the  life  of 


I 


fVSTJFimmW  BY  FAITH.         [Lect.  XXIX. 

Jesus  upon  the  cross.     Besides  this,  during  the  whole 
of  his  life  upon  earth,  he  honored  the  law  of  God  by 
a  perfect  obedience,  and  thus  became  entitled  himself 
to  all  the  rewards  of  righteousness.      Christ  Jesus, 
therefore,  as  the  Saviour,  and  in  the  place  or  room  of 
the   sinner,  made  himself  perfectly  righteous  in   the 
sight  of  the  law  :  negatively  righteous,  inasmuch  as  he 
had  discharged  fully  all  the  penalties  of  the  law  ;  and 
positively  righteous,  as  by  a  perfect  obedience  he  earned 
all  the  rewards  of  the  law.     Now  the  doctrine  of  the 
Scripture  and  the  argument  of  the  Catechism  is,  that 
God  accepts  and  acknowledges  this  whole  righteousness 
of  Christ  in  place  of,  or  as  a  substitute  for,  that  right- 
eousness which  the  believer  ought  to  have  rendered  in 
his  own  person,  but  could  not ;  so  that  in  Christ,  or 
through  Christ,  the  believer,  though  himself  a  sinner, 
becomes  perfectly  righteous  in  the  sight  of  the  law, 
being  set  free  from  all  its  penalties  and  entitled  to  all 
its  rewards.     Thus  the  Catechism :  "  God  grants  and 
imputes  to  me  the  perfect  satisfaction  (that  is  the  ex- 
piation), righteousness  (that  is  the  obedience),  and  holi- 
ness (that  is  the  acceptableness)  of  Christ,  even  so  as 
if  I  had  never  had  nor  committed  any  sins  (because 
all  his  sins  have  been  expiated),  yea,  as  if  I  had  fully 
accomplished  all  that  obedience  which  Christ  hath  ac- 
complished for  me." 

He  says,  God  "  grants  "  this  righteousness,  because 
it  was  of  mere  grace  that  God  provided  this  righteous- 
ness ;  it  was  his  purpose  to  save  which  led  him  to  the 
provision  of  that  righteousness;  and  having  provided 
it,  he  may  bestow  its  benefits  upon  whom  he  will, 
although  he  promises  and  offers  those  benefits  to  all 
who  will  believe.     They  who  beUeve  become  entitled 


Lbct.  XXIX.] 


JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH. 


157 


to  the  righteousness  through  gi^ace  of  the  promise,  for 
God  will  keep  his  word  ;  and  becoming  entitled  to  the 
righteousness,  they  receive  then,  as  a  matter  of  justice 
to  Christ  and  mercy  to  them,  all  the  consequences  of 
that  righteousness,  even  deliverance  from  the  punish- 
ment which  was  due  to  them  because  of  the  sins  which 
Christ  expiated,  and  the  rewards  due  to  those  good 
works  which  they  could  not  do,  but  which  Christ  did 
for  them. 

He  says,  also,  "  God  imputes  this  righteousness."  By 
which  is  meant  that  God  reckons  or  accounts  to  the 
believer  the  righteousness  of  Christ  as  his  own.  For 
this  is  the  proper  and  the  scriptural  sense  of  impuU. 
''  Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord  imputeth  not 
iniquity,"  or  does  not  charge  with  iniquity  (Ps.  xxxii. 
2),  which  the  apostle  declares  (Rom.  iv.  6)  to  be  the 
imputation  of  "righteousness  without  works,"  or  the 
imputation  of  a  righteousness  which  he  had  not  wrought 
out  for  himself;  for  in  a  verse  a  little  before  he  had 
said  (4,  5)  :  "  Now  to  him  that  worketh  is  the  reward 
not  reckoned  of  grace  but  of  debt ;  but  to  him  that 
worketh  not,  but  believeth  on  him  that  justifieth  the 
ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted  (the  same  Greek  word, 
Aoyt^o/xat)  for  righteousness." 

Understand,  if  you  please,  precisely  what  we  mean 
here.  God,  by  imputing  the  righteousness  of  Christ  to 
the  believer,  does  not  make  the  righteousness  of  Christ 
the  personal  righteousness  of  the  believer.  That  is  im- 
possible. The  personal  acts  or  qualities  of  one  cannot 
by  any  process  be  made  the  personal  acts  or  qualities  of 
another.  The  very  idea  is  absurd.  But  in  imputing 
the  righteousness  of  Christ  to  him,  God  gives  to  the  be- 
liever the  legal  consequences  of  Christ's  righteousness ; 


\^ 


158 


JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH.  [Lect.  XXIX. 


he  has  the  benefit  of  it  as  much  as  if  it  were  his  own. 
He  is  freed  from  the  penalties  of  the  law  because  Christ 
has  borne  them  in  his  stead.  He  receives  the  rewards 
of  Christ's  obedience  as  if  he  had  obeyed  himself. 

This,  then,  is  the  reason  why  the  believer,  though 
himself  a  sinner,  is  righteous  in  the  sight  of  God.  It 
is  because  God  grants  and  imputes  to  him  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ. 

It  is  possible  that  some  may  object  to  this  merciful 
arrangement  of  God  in  accepting  a  vicarious  or  substi- 
tuted satisfaction,  because,  in  the  first  place,  the  law  re- 
quiring righteousness  from  all,  the  righteousness  of  one 
cannot  be  the  righteousness  of  many ;  and  in  the  second 
place,  the  law  requiring  personal  obedience,  no  vicari- 
ous or  substituted  obedience  can  in  any  way  be  ac- 
cepted. Now  we  might  answer  such  objections  by  the 
express  declaration  of  the  apostle,  that "  by  the  obedience 
of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous  "  (Rom.  v.  19). 
Where  God  justifieth,  who  shall  condemn  ?  But  we 
ask  the  objector  to  consider  both  the  dignity  of  the  sub- 
stitute^ Christ  Jesus,  and  the  end  of  the  sanctions  added 

to  the  law. 

The  substitute  is  the  man  Jesus,  in  whom  God  the 
Son  was  incarnate.  The  merit,  therefore,  of  his  right- 
eousness, both  in  expiation  and  obedience,  is  infinite, 
and  can,  therefore,  cover  the  defects  and  sins  of  as  many 
sinners  such  as  we  are  as  he  chooses  to  give  the  bene- 
fits of  his  righteousness  unto. 

The  end  of  sanctiom  to  a  law  (that  is,  penalties  and 
iewards)  is  to  maintain  its  authority  over  the  subject. 
And  we  ask,  by  what  method  could  God  declare  his  de- 
termination to  vindicate  the  honor  of  his  law  in  its  for- 
bidding of  sin  better  than  by  refusing  to  pardon  any 


Lect.  XXIX.]         JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH. 


159 


sinner  before  he  had  exacted  from  his  son  Jesus  Christ 
the  full  penalty  due  the  sinner  for  sin  ?  Or  in  what 
manner  could  he  testify  his  appreciation  of  rigliteous- 
nfess  so  fully  as  by  causing  his  own  son  to  become  incar- 
nate that  he  might  honor  the  law  upon  earth,  and  then 
bestowing  the  unspeakably  rich  reward  of  eternal  life 
upon  his  people  for  that  righteousness'  sake  ? 

We  grant  that  in  human  law  such  substitution  could 
not  be  admitted,  though  something  of  the  kind  (yet 
not  in  strict  justice)  has  occurred.  But  there  can  be 
no  parallel  between  the  human  law  and  the  divine, 
^he  human  law  ought  to  be  but  a  transcript  of  the  di- 
vine, and  therefore  the  human  judge  has  no  alternative 
but  to  execute  it  strictly.  God  is  the  author  of  his 
own  law,  and  the  sovereign  offended.  He,  therefore, 
has  the  right  to  justify  and  pardon  a  transgressor  in 
such  a  way  as  he  is  satisfied  that  his  authority  receives 
no  detriment. 

Besides,  the  thing  is  impossible  among  men ;  for 
where  could  such  a  substitute  as  Jesus  be  found  ? 
Where  all  are  subjects,  the  law  requii-es  the  obedience 
ot  all ;  and,  therefore,  no  one  could  so  abstract  himself 
from  his  own  duty  as  to  prepare  a  supererogatory  right- 
eousness, which  might  be  imputed  to  the  benefit  of  an- 
other.  The  Son  of  God  obeyed  for  us  a  law  to  which 
he  was  not  himself  subject,  and  therefore  he  has  a  rio-ht 
to  bestow  the  rewards  of  his  righteousness  upon  whtm 
he  will.  *" 

^    The  manner  in  which  the  sinner  becomes  righteous 
m  Christ.  ^ 

It  is  by  faith ;  *  as  the  instructor  says,  "  I  cannot 
receive  or  apply  the  same  to  myself  in  any  other  way." 

•  For  Faith,  see  Seventh  Lord's  Day. 


•  I 


.t|  f 


JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH.         [Lect.  XXIX. 

I  need  not  stay  to  cite  proofs  from  Scripture  of  the 
necessity  of  faith  in  order  to  our  justification  and  sal- 
vation. The  whole  tenor  of  the  book  shows  that  he 
only  who  believeth  can  be  saved ;  and  this  very  right- 
eousness is  called  "  the  righteousness  which  is  of  faith  " 
(Rom.  X.  6),  or  "  by  faith  "  (Heb.  xi.  7). 

But  it  will  readily  be  seen  that  even  the  scheme  of 
salvation  by  the  imputed  righteousness  of  Christ  can- 
not be  reconciled  to  the  holiness  of  God,  unless  the 
cheerful  and  unqualified  submission  of  the  sinner,  who 
is  pardoned,  to  the  justice  and  excellence  of  the  law  be 
secured,  and  also  his  reformation  from  sin  unto  holiness. 
This  is  done  by  requiring  faith  from  him. 

1.  His  submission;  for  by  accepting  Christ's  work 
in  his  behalf  he  not  only  submits  to  be  saved  in  the 
way  which  God  appoints,  but  he  acknowledges  that  he 
ou^ht  to  have  rendered  the  righteous  obedience  which 
Christ  has  rendered  for  him,  and  deserved  to  have  suf- 
fered the  penalties  which  Christ  suffered  for  him.   Nay, 
he  rejoices  that  he  has  an  opportunity  of  fully  honoring 
the  law  of  God,  which  he  loves,  by  presenting  through 
his  faith  the  perfect  expiation  and  obedience  of  Christ. 
It  is  his  highest  satisfaction  to  believe  not  only  that 
he  is  pardoned  and  accepted  of  God,  but  that  it  is  in 
such  a  way  as  reflects  the  greatest  glory  upon  God  and 
his  law,  while  it  humbles  himself  as  utterly  destitute  of 
merit,  and  saved  by  grace  alone. 

2.  His  reformation  is  secured  because  the  proper  ef- 
fect, by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  to  purify  the 
heart,  to  work  by  love,  and  to  overcome  the  world.  So 
that  it  is  certain  that  when  God  justifies  he  sanctifies, 
because  he  justifies  only  those  who  believe.  Indeed, 
faith  is  itself  a  part,  aa  ifdl  as  the  instrument  of  sanc- 


Lect.XXIX.]  JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH. 


161 


tification,  for  no  one  can  truly  believe  in  Christ  without 
being,  in  the  very  act  of  faith,  turned  from  sin  unto 
God.  It  is,  therefore,  most  false  to  assert,  as  some 
errorists  do,  that  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith 
encourages  or  tolerates  licentiousness  of  life.  Scripture, 
experience,  even  reason  show  that  the  very  reverse  is 
the  case,  and  that  the  requisition  of  faith,  in  order  to 
salvation,  is  the  very  best  means  of  securing  the  hearty 
repentance  and  obedience  of  the  sinner.  But  upon 
this  we  shall  have  occasion  to  discourse  more  at  large 
in  our  exposition  of  the  next  Lord's  Day. 

We  must,  however,  be  careful  to  remember  that 
there  is  no  merit  of  any  kind  in  faith  itself.  The  only 
merit  which  justifies  the  believer  is  that  of  Christ,  as 
the  Catechism  says :  "  Not  that  I  am  acceptable  to  God 
on  account  of  the  worthiness  of  my  faith,  but  only  be- 
cause the  satisfaction,  righteousness,  and  holiness  of 
Christ  is  my  righteousness  before  God."  No  merit  of 
ours  can  be  mingled  with  his.  Nor  can  there  be  any 
merit  proper  in  merely  believing.  Faith  is  necessary 
to  our  justification,  because,  in  order  to  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ  being  applied  to  us,  it  must  be  accepted ; 
and  as  the  Catechism  says  :  "  I  cannot  receive  and  ap- 
ply the  same  to  myself  in  any  other  way  than  by  faith 
only."  It  may  be  necessary  to  the  pardon  of  a  rebel 
that  he  kneel  and  stretch  forth  his  hand  to  receive  the 
certificate  of  it  from  his  sovereign  ;  but  there  is  no  merit 
in  either  the  posture  or  the  act.  So  there  is  no  merit 
in  our  humbly  and  gratefully  accepting  the  pardon  of 
God  in  Christ.  The  apostle  does,  indeed,  speak  of 
"faith"  being  "counted"  or  "imputed  for  righteous- 
ness"; but  then  he  means  not  the  faith  itself,  but  the 
object  of  it,  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God.     For  if 

VOL.    II.  11 


JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH.         [Lect.  XXIX. 

he  means  otherwise,  he  overthrows  the  main  doctrine  ^ 
which  he  would  estabhsh,  that  we  are  saved  by  no  merit 
of  our  own,  but  only  by  the  merit  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Thus,  my  brethren,  you  have  before  you  the  glorious 
and  most  comforting  doctrine  of  Justification  by 
Faith. 

It  teaches  us  that 

1.  Salvation  is  provided  for  the  lost  and  ruined  sinner. 
However  sinful  we  may  have  been,  still  are,  and  feel 
Aat  we  shall  yet  be,  because  of  the  corruption  within 
us,  we  ought  not  to  despair  of  mercy,  seeing  that  God 
offers  pardon  and  favor  to  us  through  Christ  his  Son. 
We  are  in  most  awful  peril  if  we  be  not  saved  through 
Christ,  because  God  offering  to  us  mercy  declares  us  to 
be  lost  and  undone  in  ourselves  ;  yes,  so  utterly  lost  and 
undone  that  we  can  be  saved  only  by  the  infinite  merit 
of  the  Son  of  God. 

But  this  salvation  is  certainly  ours,  if  with  true  and 
penitent  hearts  we  simply  accept  the  offer  made  to  us 
in  the  gospel,  and  rely  only  upon  the  merits  of  Jesus 
Christ,  our  very  faith  being  the  evidence  of  our  pardon 
and  favor  with  God. 

2.  The  salvation  is  all  of  grace. 
Grace    contrived  the  plan  ;  for  God  was   not  con- 
strained, except  by  his  infinite  mercy,  to  save  sinners 
who  have  so  richly  deserved  his  wrath. 

Grace  provides  the  righteousness  necessary  for  the 
salvation  of  the  sinner,  and  which  none  but  God  incar- 
nate could  have  wrought  out  in  our  stead. 

Grace  bestows  the  salvation  upon  the  sinner,  because 
the  faith  by  which  he  receives  the  benefits  of  Christ's 
ricrhteousness  is  wrought  in  him  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 


:. 


Lect.  XXIX.J         JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH. 


163 


3.  The  salvation  demands  our  entire  submission  to 
God  in  Christ. 

We  must  abjure  all  trust  in  our  own  merit,  and  ac- 
cept it  only  as  a  free  gift  of  God's  mercy. 

We  must  penitently  acknowledge  our  sins  which 
needed  such  an  expiation,  and  rejoice  in  the  honor  done 
to  the  divine  law  by  the  obedience  of  Christ  in  our 
stead. 

We  must  receive  with  the  pardon  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  that  we  may  live  to  the  glory  and  for  the 
cause  of  him  who  saves  none  from  hell  whom  he  does 
not  save  from  sin. 


Christians,  give  all  glory  to  God,  who  saves  from 
such  condemnation ;  who  promises  so  blessed  an  eter- 
nal life;  and  who  saves  us  from  hell,  and  makes  us 
heirs  of  heaven  at  such  infinite  cost,  and  by  such  infi- 
nite power. 

Oh,  the  misery  of  those  who  are  out  of  Christ! 
They  are  condemned  already.  They  add  to  their  sin 
the  guilt  of  despising  the  mercy  of  God,  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  and  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  They 
have  no  true  hope  of  entering  heaven,  but,  except  they 
repent,  must  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment. 


f 


^\ 
ill 


U 


ii 


;.i    ! 


.§. 


I'  ( 


I 


T 


LECTURE    XXX. 


JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH  DEFENDED; 


OR. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GOOD  WORKS. 


m 


TWENTY-FOURTH   LORD'S   DAY. 

JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH  DEFENDED;  OR, 
THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GOOD  WORKS. 

*■ 

Quest.  LXII.  But  why  cannot  our  good  woi'Tcs  he  the  whole  or  part  of  our 
righteousness  before  God? 

Ans.  Because  that  the  righteousness  which  can  be  approved  of  before 
the  tribunal  of  God  must  be  absolutely  perfect,  and  in  all  respects  con- 
fosmable  to  the  divine  law;  and,  also,  that  our  best  works  in  this  life 
are  all  imperfect  and  defiled  with  sin. 

Quest.  LXIII.  What  do  not  our  vx/rks  merit,  which  yet  God  will  reward 
in  this  and  a  future  life  ? 

Ans.    The  reward  is  not  of  merit  but  of  grace. 

Quest.  LXIV.    But  doth  not  this  doctrine  make  men  careless  and  profane  t 

Aks.  By  no  means ;  for  it  is  impossible  that  those  who  are  implanted 
into  Christ  by  a  true  faith  should  not  bring  forth  fruits  of  thankful- 
ness. 

^HE  doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith  alone,  as 
-^  taught  in  the  last  lesson  of  our  Catechism  and  in 
the  Confessions  of  all  the  Reformed  churches,  has  been 
vehemently  objected  to.  It  offends  the  pride  of  men 
by  declaring  that  they  are,  not  only  destitute,  but  inca- 
pable of  merit  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  that,  therefore, 
they  cannot  be  saved  except  through  his  free  and  sov- 
ereign mercy.  Besides,  God,  in  his  word  and  provi- 
dence, has  established  a  vital  connection  between  holi- 
ness and  happiness,  so  that  his  favor  is  ever  the  reward 
of  righteousness.  This  is  the  eternal  rule  of  his  gov- 
ernment, emanating  from  his  perfect  justice  and  the 
entire  harmony  of  his  perfect  attributes.  The  great 
purpose  of  Christianity  is  to  restore  the  sinner  to  right- 
eousness, and  fit  him  by  a  radical  reformation  for  eter- 
nal blessedness  in  the  presence  of  God ;  and  the  whole 


4i* 


1 


i     i 


168        JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH  DEFENDED;    [Lect.  XXX. 

doctrine  of  the  gospel  is  given  to  show  that  God  is  not 
merely  merciful,  but  just,  in  the  salvation  of  him  which 
believeth  in  Jesus. 

We  are  not,  therefore,  willing  to  suppose  that  it  is 
only  a  cavilling,  or  even  a  self-righteous  spirit,  which 
requires  demonstration  of  the  consistency  between  these 
undoubted  truths  and  salvation  by  faith  alone.  There 
may  be  an  honest,  though  not  an  excusable,  misunder- 
standing of  the  doctrine  which  it  is  our  duty  to  sympa- 
thize with,  and,  so  far  as  we  can,  correct  What  is 
more  natural  than  to  ask, — 

How  is  it  that  the  gospel  requires  good  works  from 
us,  and  yet  they  make  no  part  of  our  justification  with 


How  ii  it,  that  the  rewards  of  God's  favor  in  this 
life,  but  especially  in  the  life  to  come,  are  promised  to 
those  who  do  good  works,  and  yet  those  works  are 
without  merit  in  God's  sight  ^  ,  . 

Or,  how  can  the  promise  of  salvation  to  simple  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ  fail  to  encourage  men  in  a  careless  and 
presumptuous  way  of  life  ? 

These  questions  ought  to  be  answered.  It  ought  to 
%e  shown  that  so  important  an  article  of  our  creed  is 
consistent  with  itself  and  every  part  of  the  word  of 
God.  To  do  this,  is  the  object  of  the  lesson  for  to-day, 
and  of  our  present  discourse.     Thus, 

The  answer  to  our  62d  Question  declares,  that 

Our  good  works  cannot  be  a  part  of  our  righteous- 
ness before  God. 

The  answer  to  our  63d  Question,  that 

The  rewards  promised  to  good  works  are  not  because 
of  merit  in  themselves,  but  of  the  grace  of  God.  And 
the  answer  lo  ihe  64th  Questian,  that 


Lect.  XXX.]    OR,  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.        t^ 

It  is  an  essential  property  of  saving  faith  to  bring 
forth  fruits  of  thankfulness  in  good  works. 

The  first  shows  why  good  works  are  not  insisted 
upon  as  a  method  of  salvation. 

The  second,  how  our  good  works  receive  reward, 
though  they  have  no  merit  in  themselves. 

And  the  third,  what  the  genuine  effect  of  faith  in 
Christ  is  upon  the  heart  and  life  of  the  believer. 

We  shall,  by  God's  help,  attempt  to  discuss  the  three 
several  propositions  as  they  are  laid  before  us  in  the 
lesson. 

First  :  Good  works  cannot  he  a  part  of  our  righteous- 
ness  before  (rod. 

This  may  be  proved  at  once  by  the  assertion  of  God, 
that  "  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  (and  there  are  no  good 
works  which  the  law  does  not  require)  there  shall  no 
flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight."  What  God  declares 
impossible  cannot  be. 

It  may  be  proved  by  the  fact  that  God  has  provided 
in  Christ  an  infinite  righteousness  for  our  justification, 
which  would  be  manifestly  unnecessary  and  superfluous 
if  our  own  obedience  could  have  availed  in  any  way 
to  save  us.  As  the  apostle  says,  "  If  righteousness 
come  by  the  law,  then  Christ  is  dead  in  vain  "  (Gal. 
ii.  21). 

And  it  may  be  proved  by  the  extent  of  the  salvation^ 
which  secures  to  the  believer,  though  a  sinner,  a  higher 
blessedness  than  was  granted  to  man  in  innocence,  and 
therefore,  being  out  of  all  proportion  to  any  supposa- 
ble  merit  of  ours,  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  in- 
finite merit  of  Christ,  the  purchaser,  and  the  principle 
of  the  gospel,  that  "  where  sin  abounded,  grace  should 
much  more  abound  "  (Rom.  v.  20).     But  let  us  add 


III 


II 


■r 


170         JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH  DEFENDED;    [Lect.  XXX. 

to  these  the  conclusive  argument  of  our  instructor  in 
the  answer  to  the  62d  Question,  which  is  that 

We  have  not,  and  cannot  have,  any  good  works, 
properly  so  called,  to  present  before  God. 

"  The  righteousness  which  can  be  approved  of  before 
the  tribunal  of  God  must  be  absolutely  perfect,  and  in 
all  respects  conformable  to  the  divine  law  ;  and  .  .  . 
our  best  works  in  this  life  are  all  imperfect,  and  defiled 

with  sin." 

When  we  compare  men  with  each  other,  it  is  not  to 
be  denied  that  we  may  find  some  bright  contrasts  to 
prevailing  selfishness  and  wrong,  yet  it  is  from  the 
prevalence  of  selfishness  and  wrong  that  most  of  what 
is  accounted  good  in  men  has  its  seeming  goodness. 
Among  a  nation  habitually  drunkards,  one  who  drank 
to  intoxication  only  several  times  a  year,  as  the  virtu- 
ous men  of  Athens  at  the  feasts  of  Bacchus,  would  be 
considered  a  miracle  of  temperance,  but  among  a  na- 
tion habitually  temperate,  a  single  fit  of  drunkenness 
wg\M  stamp  disgrace  on  the  same  person.     In  Chris- 
tian countries  it  is  most  infamous  for  a  man  to  treat 
with  contempt  and  cruelty  the  wife  of  his  bosom ;  in 
Hindoostan  the  reverse  would  be  extraordinary.     Cy- 
rus, in   refraining  from  the  dishonor  of  his  beautiful 
captive,   won   immortal   praise,  not   because   such  an 
abuse  of  power  would  not  have  been  in  the  last  degree 
unmanly,   but    that   such   abuse   was  then    universal. 
These  are  strong  instances,  but  serve  to  show  what 
false  judgments  may  be  formed  from  delusive  circum- 
stances.    A  man  is  liberal  in  his  kindness  to  the  poor, 
and  he  gets  great  credit  for  charitableness.      But  is 
not  liberal  kindness  to  the  poor  a  duty  binding  upon 
all  ?     Whence  then  such  praise  ?     Few  are  so  unchar- 


Lbct.XXX.]     or,  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.        171 

itable.  Another  pays  debts,  from  which  the  letter  of 
human  law,  but  not  equity,  sets  him  free,  and  he  is 
lauded  for  integrity.  Is  it  not  the  duty  of  all  men  to 
pay  what  they  really  owe  ?  Yes,  but  few  are  so  hon- 
est. Another  is  distinguished  for  candor.  Is  not  truth 
a  universal  duty  ?  Alas  !  few  are  sincere.  But  who 
is  there  perfectly  candid,  perfectly  honest,  perfectly 
benevolent,  perfectly  pure  ?  Where  is  there  a  charac- 
ter perfectly  free  from  blemish  ?  In  a  world  of  right- 
eousness like  heaven,  the  best  patterns  of  what  we  here 
call  human  goodness  would  be  strange  deformities,  and 
especially  so  were  their  inner  motives  and  desires  as 
apparent  as  their  outward  conduct. 

But  God  tries  us  by  no  rule  so  partial  and  shifting  as 
human  opinion.      He  brings  us  to  the  test  of  his  holy 
law.     That  law  requires  all  righteousness.     It  is  not 
satisfied  with   an  outward  compliance,  beyond  which 
human  authority  cannot  penetrate,  but  searches    like 
his  omniscient  eye  into  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the 
heart.     The  obedience  he  insists  upon  is  a  perfect  obe- 
dience, an  entire  conformity  to  all  his  precepts.      Thus 
the  apostle  Paul  says  (Gal.  iii.  10),  quoting  from  Deu- 
teronomy (xxvii.  26),  "  Cursed  is  every  one  that  con- 
tinueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book 
of  the  law,  to  do  them."     The  apostle  James  goes  far- 
ther (ii.  10),  and  declares  that  "  whosoever  shall  keep 
the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty 
of  all "  ;  because  he  is  a  rebel  against  the  authority  of 
the  law.     It  matters  not  what  obedience  we  may  other- 
wise or  at  other  times  perform,  a  single  act  of  trans- 
gression in  thought,   word,  or  deed  not  only  impairs 
our  obedience,  but  brings  us  under  the  penalty  of  the 
curse.     This  is  the  fact,  indeed,  with  regard  to  human 


f' 


172       JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH  DEFENDED;      [Lkct.  XXX. 

law  No  one,  convicted  of  a  single  theft  or  murder,  is 
freed  from  punishment,  because  he  did  not  steal  ten 
purses,  or  murder  ten  men.  It  was  his  duty  to  refram 
from  stealing  anything,  or  wounding  any  one.  ^o  pre- 
vious or  subsequent  good  conduct  can  expiate  m  the  eye 
of  justice  any  one  act  of  crime.  The  law  requires  en- 
tire innocence.  It  is  true,  a  generally  good  character 
may  palliate,  but  never  in  strictness  can  atone  for  any 
offence.  Repentance  is  not  expiation,  because  all  our 
time  is  demanded  for  perfect  obedience. 

Now,  can  we  render  such  entire,  perfect,  constant 
nbedience  ?     Is  there  any  one  of  our  good  works  m  its 
motive  pure  and  unmingled  with  sin?     Will  all  our 
conduct  stand  such  a  scrutiny  ?     Is  there  any  man  that 
liveth  and  sinneth  not?      The  word  of  God  says  No, 
and  conscience  echoes  the  negative.     There  is  no  one 
who  has  loved  God  with  his  whole  heart,  mmd,  and 
strength.     There  is  no  one  who  has  loved  his  neighbor 
as  himself.     If  one  were  to  make  a  boast  of  such  per- 
fection, men  would  hoot  at  him  for  a  hypocrite,  and 
fear  him  as  an  arrant  knave,  who  sought  a  confidence 
he  would  be  sure  to  violate. 

There  is  no  hope  from  our  own  righteousness.  We 
have  not,  and  we  cannot  have,  any  good  works,  prop- 
erly so  called,  to  present  before  God.  Our  best  works 
are  too  imperfect  to  deserve  reward,  and  our  actual  sms 
positively  condemn  us. 

But  it  may  be  said,  that,  if  we  sincerely  endeavor  to 
do  the  very  best  in  our  power,  God  will  surely  pardon 
the  sins  of  our  infirmities,  and  accept  our  service,  im- 
perfect as  it  may  be.  The  justice  of  God  warrants  no 
such  expectation.  He  says  unequivocally,  "  The  soul 
that  sinneth,  it  shall  die."     If  he  be  so  forgiving  and 


Lkct.  XXX.]      OR,  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.      173 


tolerant,  the  reason  must  lie  in  his  mercy;  and  that 
would  be  salvation  by  grace,  not  of  works.  God  is 
merciful,  and  in  his  mercy  does  pardon  the  sins  and 
accept  the  services,  though  unworthy,  of  all  who  truly 
humble  themselves  to  accept  his  grace.  But  he  is  mer- 
ciful only  in  Christ,  and  for  Christ's  sake  only  he  par- 
dons and  accepts  the  unworthy.  If  we  seek  salvation 
there,  we  shall  certainly  find  it ;  but  we  cannot  deserve 
it,  and  that  is  what  we  intended  to  prove. 

Secondly  :  The  rewards  promised  to  our  good  works 
are  not  because  of  merit  in  them,  hut  of  the  grace  of  God, 

Rewards  are  certainly  promised  to  the  good  works  of 
God's  people  in  this  life,  and  especially  in  the  life  to 
come.  The  texts  of  Scripture  to  prove  this  are  so 
numerous  and  familiar,  that  we  scarcely  need  to  recite 
any.  Even  a  cup  of  cold  water  given  in  the  name  of 
one  of  Christ's  disciples,  shall  not  lose  its  reward  (Matt. 
X.  42). 

Good  works  are,  indeed,  essential  to  a  warranted 
hope  of  heaven,  as  is  clearly  shown  by  our  Lord  in  his 
parable  of  the  builders  (Matt.  vii.  21-27),  where  the 
man  who  heard  Christ's  sayings  and  did  them  not  is 
likened  to  one  who  built  his  house  upon  the  sand,  and 
to  whom  the  Lord  will  say,  "  I  never  knew  thee ;  '* 
and  in  his  description  of  the  judgment  (Matt.  xxv.  31- 
46),  where  he  declares  that  none  but  those  who  have 
done  good  to  their  fellow- men  in  trouble,  shall  be  re- 
ceived into  life  eternal. 

The  good  works  of  Christ's  people  follow  them  to 
heaven,  and  there  determine  the  degree  of  glory  which 
each  believer  shall  receive.  "Blessed  are  the  dead 
which  die  in  the  Lord,  from  henceforth  ;  yea,  saith  the 
Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors ;  and  their 


[    o 


174       JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH  DEFENDED;      [Lkct.  XXX. 

works  do  Mow  them  "  (Rev,  xiv.  13).  The  prece- 
dence given  in  heaven  to  those  who  were  faithful  in 
great  tribulations  (vii.  14),  and  the  spirit  of  the  Scrip- 
tures throughout,  show  that  in  proportion  to  their  fidel- 
ity shall  be  the  reward  of  the  redeemed,  where  there 
are  different  degrees  of  blessedness,  as  one  star  differ- 
eth  from  another  star  in  glory,  though  all  are  bright. 

Nay,  we  are  permitted,  in  imitation  of  our  Master, 
who,  "  for  the  joy  set  before  him,  endured  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame  "  (Heb.  xii.  1,  2),  to  have  -  re- 
spect"  as   Moses  had  (xi.  26)    "to  the   recompense 
of  reward,"  and  to  believe,  as  the  apostle  assures  us, 
that  God  is  not  unrighteous  to  forget  our  work  and 
labor  of  love.     We  are  justified  and  encouraged  m  a 
noble  ambition  not  to  be  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of 
God,  but  to  "  lay  up  for  ourselves  treasures  where  nei- 
ther moth  nor  rust   doth  corrupt,  and  where   thieves 
break  not  through  and  steal"  (Matt.  vi.  20)  ;^and  to 
secure  a  "  great  reward  in  heaven  "  (Matt.  v.  12). 

But  all  this  value  is  given  to  our  good  works  only  in 
consequence  of  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ. 

1.  It  is  this  grace  which  pardons  and  deliver  us  from 
our  sins,  whiclf  otherwise  would  condemn  and  destroy 
w,  notwithstanding  all  our  efforts  to  do  well ;  for,  cer- 
tainly, until  we  be  delivered  from  guilt  in  the  past,  we 
can  do  nothing  to  merit  favor. 

2.  It  is  this  grace  which  covers  and  pardons  all  the 
defects  which,  in  despite  of  all  our  efforts,  will  cling  to 
our  best  attempts  at  service.  The  works  of  the  believer 
are  washed  in  Christ's  blood,  and  adorned  by  his  merits, 
and  presented  by  his  intercession.  It  is  not  because 
they  are  worthy,  or  that  the  worker  is  worthy,  but  be- 
cause they  are  laid  upon  the  altar  Christ  Jesus,  that 


Lect.  XXX.]     OR,  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.       175 

they  are  both  acceptable  to  God.  For  consider,  my 
friends,  the  greatness  of  reward  promised.  Is  it  possi- 
ble that  the  best  righteousness  a  man  could  accomplish 
during  the  longest  life  on  earth  can  deserve  such  eter- 
nal and  unspeakably  glorious  wages  as  are  given  to  the 
servants  of  Christ  in  heaven  ?  No  ;  nothing  less  than 
the  righteousness  of  Christ  could  deserve  a  reward  so 
vast ;  and  it  is  because  that  righteousness  is  reckoned 
unto  the  believer,  and  his  works  are  accepted  through 
that  righteousness,  he  receives  the  promises  and  the  ful- 
filment of  them.     And 

3.  It  is  this  grace  which  inclined  the  believer,  once  in 
"darkness,"  (Ephes.  v.  8,)  and  ''alienated  from  the 
life  of  God  through  ignorance"  (iv.  18)  to  good 
works.  But  for  sovereign  grace  he  had  remained  dead 
"in  trespasses  and  sins  "  (ii.  1).  And  having  inclined 
him,  it  is  the  same  grace  which  enables  him  to  do  good 
works.  For,  says  the  Saviour,  "  without  me  ye  can  do 
nothing  "  (John  xv.  5) ;  and  the  apostle  exhorts  us  to 
work  out  our  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,  because 
it  is  God  that  worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do  of 
his  good  pleasure  (Phil.  ii.  12,  13). 

Since,  then,  it  is  grace  that  delivers  us  from  condem- 
nation, thus  giving  us  the  opportunity  of  doing  good 
works,  and  grace  which  presents  our  good  works,  im- 
perfect in  themselves,  but  covered  with  Christ's  merits, 
which  grace  had  provided ;  nay,  since  it  is  grace  which 
inclines  and  enables  us  to  do  any  good  work,  surely, 
the  reward  of  our  good  works  is  not  of  their  merit,  but 
of  grace  alone. 

Thirdly  :  It  i%  an  essential  property  of  saving  faith 
to  bring  foHh  fruits  of  thankfulness  in  good  works, 

"  It  is  impossible,"  says  our  instructor,  "  that  those 


«< 


I, 


m      JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH  DEFENDED;      [Lect.  XXX. 

who  are  implanted  into  Christ  by  a  true  faith  should 
not  bring  forth  fruits  of  thankfulness." 
This  will  readily  be  seen,  if  we  consider 
1    In  whom  the  Christian  believes.     It  is  in  Christ 
the  Saviour  from  sin,  who  delivers  from  the  necessary 
consequence  of  sin,  which  is  misery,  not  only  by  expiat- 
ing past  sin,  but  by  saving  his  people  from  sm  itself. 
Thus  the  father  of  the  Baptist,  in  his  thanksgiving, 
says  of  God  in  Christ :  "  He  grants  unto  us,  that  we, 
being  delivered  out  of  the  hand  of  our  enemies,  (i,  e. 
our  sins,)  might  serve  him  without  fear,  in  holiness  and 
righteousness  all  the  days  of  our  life  "  (Luke  i.  74,  75). 
If  then,  the  great  end  and  work  of  the  Saviour  be  to 
make  us  obedient  and  holy,  it  is  impossible  that  any 
one  can  truly  believe  in  him  and  embrace  him  as  a 
Saviour,  who  is  not  truly  penitent,  heartily  desirous  of 
forsaking  all  sins,  and  of  living  according  to  all  the 
commandments  of  God.     Consider 
2.  To  whom  faith  unites  the  Christian. 
By  faith  he  is  vitally  united  to  Christ,  as  members 
^  his  body,  he  being  the  divine  head  (Ephes.  v.  30)  ; 
as  branches  to  the   stem,  he  being  the  living  vine 
(John  XV.  1-5)  ;  as  living  stones  in  God's  spiritual 
liouse,  he  being  the  chief  corner-stone  (Ephes.  ii.  20  ; 
1  Peter  ii.  6).     Now,  as  the  foundation  gives  strength 
and  sustenance  to  the  building,  as  the  stem  sheds  life 
and  fruitfulness  through  the  branches  engrafted  into  it^ 
as  the  members  of  the  body  are  vitally  united  to  the 
head,  directed  by  it  and  inspired  from  it,  so  all  who 
truly  believe  in  Jesus  are  animated  by  a  life  superior 
to  their  own,  even  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  made  fruitful 
by  an  energy  superior  to  their  own,  even  the  grace  of 
the  Spirit,  and  sustained  bf  *  power  superior  to  their 


Lbct.XXX.J      or,  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.       177 

own,  even  the  strength  of  God  ;  so  it  is  impossible  but 
that  they  will  be  animated,  moved,  and  enabled  to  do 
good  works.  The  absence  of  such,  the  proper  effect, 
proves  the  absence  of  true  faith,  the  cause.     Consider 

3.  Of  whom  the  Christian  learns  by  faith. 

It  is  of  God  in  Christ,  to  whom  all  the  prophets  and 
the  law  bear  witness.  The  true  believer  in  Christ, 
therefore,  believes  in  all  the  truth  of  God,  as  taught  in 
the  Scriptures.  All  the  doctrines,  all  the  precepts,  all 
the  promises. 

He  believes  in  the  infinitely  glorious  and  holy  attri- 
butes of  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  and 
thus  recognizes  himself  to  be  the  responsible  creature 
of  the  omnipotent,  all-seeing,  and  just  and  good  God. 
He  carries  this  thought  with  him,  and  lives  and  moves 
and  has  his  being  in  God. 

He  believes  in  the  purity,  exceeding  breadth,  and 
justice  of  the  divine  law ;  and  thus  is  convinced  of  his 
sin,  its  enormity,  and  his  imminent  peril  of  eternal 
death,  should  he  not  be  pardoned  and  delivered  from 
his  sins,  but  continue  a  wilful  transgressor  and  rebel- 
lious creature. 

He  believes  in  the  riches  of  God's  grace  by  Jesus 
Christ ;  the  infinite  mercy,  which  proposed  to  save 
sinners ;  the  infinite  mercy  which  sent  the  Son,  of  the 
Son  who  came,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  sanctified 
the  Son  incarnate  as  the  Saviour ;  the  infinite  merit  of 
that  righteousness  which  the  Son  wrought  for  the  sal- 
vation of  sinners ;  and  the  infinite  grace  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  by  which  that  righteousness  is  applied  to  and 
the  salvation  accomplished  for  and  in  the  believer ;  and 
he  believes  in  the  infinite  glory  and  blessedness  of  that 


VOL.   II. 


12 


V 


i 


f 


1)  It' 


118      JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH  DEFENDED;     [Lect.  XXX. 

life  eternal,  which  is  proiiiised,  from  the  Father  by  the 
Son  and  through  the  Spirit,  to  all  who  believe. 

Now,  my  hearers,  you  cannot  fail  to  perceive  that 
such  faith  in  Christ  establishes  in  the  soul  of  the  be- 
liever, to  incline  and  maintain  him  in  good  works,  the 
three  strongest  principles  of  which  our  nature  is  capa- 
ble :  /ear,  hope^  and  love. 

How  will  one,  who  believes  in  the  awful  holiness  and 
terrible  justice  of  God,  dare  knowingly  to  persevere  in 
the  commission  of  wrong  or  the  neglect  of  right? 
What  can  restrain  irregular  desire  and  passion  if  an 
habitual  sense  of  the  divine  presence  and  scrutiny  do 

not? 

And  when  faith  shows  in  strong  contrast  to  the  cares 
and  pleasures  and  gains  of  this  passing  life  the  bright 
eternity  of  rest  and  joy  and  glory  which  awaits  God's 
true  and  zealous  servants,  when  she  points  to  the  in- 
creased richness  of  their  reward  who  have  been  more 
true  and  faithful,  will  not  the  hope  of  that  heaven  and 
its  distinction  be  as  an  anchor  to  the  soul  of  the 
tempted,  a  sola6e  to  the  sad,  and  a  cheerful  argument 
to  endure  patiently,  and  work  steadfastly,  even  to  the 

end  ? 

But  above  all,  when  the  believer  thinks  of  all  the 

love  of  God  in'  Christ  to  his  soul,  his  atonement,  his 

intercession,  his  power,  and  his  long-suffering,  —  when 

ie  remembers  Jesus  in  the  manger,  in  the  desert,  in 

Gethsemane,  on  the  cross,  and  then  looks  up  to  him 

upon  his  throne, — when  he  reads  the  precious  promises 

bought  by  his  Master's  blood,  and  secured  by  his  Mas- 

ter'^  Spirit,  —  will  not  his  sinful,  selfish  thoughts  give 

way  before  a  gushing  tide  of  love  for  Christ  and  God  in 

Christ  ?    Can  he  choose  but  live  for  his  cause  who  died 


Lect.  XXX.]     OK,  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.      179 

and  rose  again  that  he  might  give  eternal  life  to  as 
many  as  would  receive  him? 

Nay,  my  brethren,  so  vital  is  the  connection  between 
true  faith  and  good  works,  that  faith  is  the  great  instru- 
ment by  which  the  Holy  Spirit  sanctifies  the  heart  of 
the  Christian.  It  is,  in  fact,  itself  a  part  of  the  sanc- 
tification,  and  the  good  works  which  it  produces,  the 
beginning  and  progress  of  the  very  salvation  which 
Christ  has  promised  to  the  believer. 

Thus  we  argue  that  it  is  an  essential  property  of 
saving  faith  to  bring  forth  fruits  of  thankfulness  in  good 
works.  And  in  this  we  see  the  harmony  of  the  apos- 
tles Paul  and  James,  when  the  one  says,  "  A  man  is 
justified  by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law  "  (Rom. 
iii.  28)  ;  and  the  other,  "  that  by  works  man  is  justified 
and  not  by  faith  only"  (James  ii.  24),  because,  as 
James  says  (17,  v.),  "  Faith,  if  it  hath  not  works,  is 
dead  being  alone  ;  "  and  (26,  v.)  "  as  the  body  without 
the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works  is  dead  also." 
The  true  faith  which  engrafts  a  sinner  into  Christ  is 
ever  fruitful  in  good  works  ;  that  seeming  faith  which 
does  not  produce  such  sanctifying  consequences  is  not 
saving  faith  any  more  than  a  dead  body  is  a  man. 

It  is  true,  faith  does  not  at  once  perfectly  sanctify 
the  repentant  sinner.  That  is  not  the  order  of  God's 
grace.  But  the  work  is  begun  with  faith,  and  faith 
maintains  a  fight  with  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the 
devil,  until  at  last  it  gains  a  consummate  victory. 

Let  us  learn  from  the  whole  subject, 
1.  Humility. 

Pride  in  good  works,  or  self-righteousness,  is  most 
inconsistent  with  a  Christian  temper ;  because  all  that 


'1 


I 


H 


i 


180        JUSTIFICATION  BY  FAITH  DEFENDED;      [Leci.  XXX. 


makes  a  difference  in  light  or  practice  between  one  sin- 
ner and  another  is  of  grace,  and  because  when  the  best 
Christian  compares  his  best  works  with  the  only  true 
standard,  the  law  of  God,  he  must  find  them  to  be  in 
themselves  utterly  unworthy  to  appear  before  his  Judge. 
Hence  the  best  Christians  are  always  the  most  humble, 
and  prove  it  by  being  the  most  charitable  in  the  judg- 
ment of  others.  It  was  not  the  pharisee  who  thanked 
God  that  he  was  not  as  other  men,  whom  God  justified ; 
but  the  publican,  who  cried,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a 
sinner."  "  Take  heed,"  my  brethren,  "  and  beware  of 
the  leaven  of  the  pharisees." 
2.  Encouragement. 

The  requirements  of  the  divine  law  are  very  great, 
and  the  duties  of  a  Christian  life  very  difficult.  When 
III  our  weakness  we  contemplate  them,  we  are  afraid 
and  say,  "  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  "  "  Who 
can  be  saved  ?  "  How  shall  we  dare  bring  before  God 
such  a  poor  and  imperfect  service  as  the  best  we  can 
render  must  be  ?  Yet,  my  brethren,  poor  as  our  best 
service  may  be,  it  can  be  made  better  by  divine  grace. 
That  "  grace  is  sufficient  for  us  " ;  and  if  we  offer  it 
mnto  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  his  righteousness 
can  cover  every  defect  and  make  meanness,  glory  ;  and 
poverty,  abounding  riches ;  while  his  blood  washes  away 
every  stain.  Oh,  what  a  blessedness  to  lay  our  unwor- 
thy deeds  of  service  upon  the  altar  of  Christ's  worth, 
and  see  them  transmuted  into  precious  beauty,  accepta- 
ble and  welcome  to  God  his  Father  ;  and  to  know  that 
mot  one  kind  act,  or  word,  or  thought,  for  Christ's  sake 
and  the  gospel's,  shall  ever  be  lost,  but  will  meet  us  in 
beaven,  and  be  our  joy  and  reward  and  decoration 
forevef  tffiong  tli©  angels  of  God!     So  the  best  be- 


Lect.  XXX.]     OR,  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.      181 

liever  is  ever  the  most  zealous  worker  in  good  to  God's 
cause  and  his  fellow-men. 
3.  Caution. 

If  there  be  no  salvation  without  true  faith,  and  no 
true  faith  without  good  works,  it  is  wise  in  us  most 
carefully  to  examine  ourselves,  whether  we  have  this 
faith  or  not.     Do  we  account  ourselves  orthodox  and 
strong  in  faith  ?     We  are  deceiving  ourselves,  except 
we  be  at  the  same  time  earnest  lovers  of  God  and  man, 
zealous  in  their  service,  and  ready  to  devote  all  we 
have  for  their  sakes.     The  three  worst  signs  in  a  pro- 
fessnig  Christian  are  pride,  sloth,  and  covetousness.     I 
know  not  which  is  the  worst,  for  they  grow  like  the 
trefoil  on  one  stem.     But  this  is  certahi,  covetousness 
IS  the  least  easily  cured. 

But,  at  the  same  time,  let  no  one  condemn  them- 
selves as  wanting  in  true  faith  because  they  are  not 
satisfied  with  the  degree  of  love  and  zeal  they  have. 
It  is  faith  which  shows  us  our  defects ;  and  if  we  be 
truly  sorry  for  them  and  make  hearty  endeavors  to 
live  according  to  the  commandments  of  God,  we  may 
be  sure  that  God  accepts  us  in  Jesus  Christ,  because 
such  desires  and  effiDrts  are  the  fruit  of  faith  alone. 
Faith  in  Christ's  cross  is  nothing-  except  we  follow 
him ;  nor  can  we  follow  him  except  we  have  faith  in 
his  cross ;  so  that  a  true  following  of  Christ  proves  a 
true  faith  in  Christ. 

Which  faith,  fruitful  in  good  works,  may  God  gi-ant 
to  us  all  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake.     Amen. 


^ 
f 


tft 


■■ ' 


# 


LECTURE   XXXI. 

FAITH  PROI  THE  HOLY  GHOST  THROUGH  THE 
WORD  AND  THE  SACRAMENTS. 


TWENTY-FIFTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

FAITH  FROM    THE    HOLY    GHOST    THROUGH 
THE  WORD  AND  THE   SACRAMENTS. 

Quest.  LXV.  Since,  then,  we  are  made  partakers  of  Christ  and  all  his  ben- 
efits by  faith  only,  whence  does  this  faith  pivceed? 

Aks.  From  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  works  faith  in  our  hearts  by  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel,  and  confirms  it  by  the  use  of  the  sacraments. 

Quest.  LXVI.     What  are  the  sacraments  t 

Ans.  The  sacraments  are  holy,  visible  signs  and  seals,  appointed  bv  God 
for  this  end,  that  by  the  use  thereof  he  may  the  more  fully  declare  and 
seal  to  us  tlie  promises  of  the  gospel;  viz:  that  he  grants  us  freely  the 
remission  of  sin,  and  life  eternal,  for  the  sake  of  that  one  sacrifice  of 
Christ,  accomplished  on  the  cross. 

Quest.  LX  VII.  Are  both  word  and  sacraments  there  ordained  and  appointed 
for  this  end,  that  they  may  direct  our  faith  to  the  sacrifce  of  Jesus  Christ 
on  the  cross,  as  the  only  ground  of  our  salvation  f 

Ans.  Yes,  indeed;  for  the  Holy  Ghost  teaches  us  in  the  gospel,  and  as- 
sures us  by  the  sacraments,  that  the  whole  of  our  salvation  depends 
upon  that  one  sacrifice  of  Christ  which  he  off'ered  for  us  on  the  cross. 

Quest.  LXVIII.  Hoio  many  sacraments  has  Christ  instituted  in  the  New 
Covenant,  or  Testament  t 

Aks.    Two;  viz:  holy  baptism  and  the  holy  supper. 

TF,  as  the  Scriptures  plainly  teach,  our  salvation  be 
^  wholly  of  grace,  all  the  processes  and  means  by 
which  it  is  accomplished  must  also  be  of  grace,  espe- 
cially faith,  by  which  we  are  made  partakers  of  Christ 
and  all  his  benefits.  Thus  the  apostle  says  (Ephes.  ii. 
8),  "  By  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith,  and  that  not 
of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God."  The  whole  work 
of  salvation  through  faith  is  of  grace ;  and,  conse- 
quently, the  faith  itself  is  the  gift  of  God.  For,  a« 
faith  is  the  act  of  a  regenerate  soul,  and  a  faculty  so 


» 


I. 


h 


i 


IM 


FAITH  FROM  THE  HOLT  GHOST.    [Lect.  XXXI. 


superior  to  oof  fellen  nature  as  to  overcome  its  sinful 
tendency,  it  cannot  be  exercised  by  a  sinner,  except  he 
has  it  from  the  grace  of  God.  "  No  man  can  say  that 
Jesus  is  the  Lord, but  by  the  Holy  Ghost"  (1  Cor.  xii. 
8).  Christ,  by  his  spirit,  is  the  author  and  finisher  of 
our  faith  (Heb.  xii.  2). 

,  But  this  dependence  upon  grace  does  not  render  our 
own  efforts  to  attain  salvation  unnecessary.  On  the 
contrary,  God  the  Holy  Ghost  works  by  means  adapted 
to  our  natures,  which  means  are  part  of  his  gracious 
plan,  according  to  whose  justified  mercy  he  offers  us 
salvation ;  and  it  is  only  as  we  use  those  means  that  we 
can  hope  for  him  "  to  work  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do 
of  his  good  pleasure."  These  means  being  appointed 
by  God  as  those  in  the  proper  use  of  which  he  is  will- 
ing to  bless  us,  it  is  disobedience  on  our  part  not  to  use 
them  zealously,  and  unbelief  not  to  expect  through 
them  the  blessings  he  has  promised. 

Our  instructor,  therefore,  while  he  directs  us  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  as  the  energetic  cause  of  faith,  directs  Us 
also  to  those  means  by  our  use  of  which  he  works  and 
confirms  faith  in  our  hearts. 

This  divides  our  lesson  for  to-day  under  two  heads  : 
f  IRST :  The  Source  of  Faith.  "  The  Holy  Ghost." 
Secondly  :  The  Means  of  Faith,  "  The  preaching  of 
the  gospel,"  and  "the  use  of  the  sacraments." 

First  :   The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  source  of  faith. 

In  answer  to  the  question,  "  Whence  doth  this  faith 
(by  which  we  are  made  partakers  of  Christ  and  all  his 
benefits)  proceed  ?  "  our  instructor  says :  "  From  the 
Holy  Ghost,  who  works  faith  in  our  hearts  by  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  confirms  it  by  the  use  of 
tbe  sacraments." 


Lect.  XXXL]      FAITH  FROM  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  187 

Here  are  three  things  to  be   marked  :      1.    Faith 
comes  from  the  Holy  Ghost.     2.  It  is  wrought  in  the 
heart.     3.  By  the  use  of  certain  means. 
1.  Faith  comes  from  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  Master,  in  opening  the  gospel  to  Nicodemus,  as- 
serts first,  the  necessity  of  our  being  born  again,  and 
then,  of  faith  in  Christ :  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again, 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God  ; "  "  as  Moses  lifted 
up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son 
of  man  be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life."     He  gives  the 
reason  for  this  order :  "  That  which  is  bom  of  the  flesh 
is  flesh,  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit." 
No  man  in  his  natural  state  can  see  or  enter  into  the 
spiritual  things  of  the  kingdom  of  God.     He  must  have 
a  new  spiritual  life  before  he  can  discern  and  appro- 
hend  the  doctrine  of  Christ;  as  the  apostle  argues  (1 
Cor.  ii.  14),  "The   natural   man   receiveth   not   the 
things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness 
unto  him,  neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are 
spiritually  discerned."     We  cannot  believe  the  truths 
of  the  gospel  until  we  know  them. 

God  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give  his  Son  for  our 
salvation  ;  the  Son  has  given  himself;  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  has  his  office  in  the  saving  work,  which  is  the 
application  of  Christ's  righteousness  to  the  sinner,  and 
this  the  Divine  Sanctifier  does  by  enabling  the  sinner 
to  believe  in  Christ,  for  "  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
shall  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 

The  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  declared,  through- 
out the  New  Testament,  to  be  given  by  the  Father  in 
answer  to  the  prayers  of  the  Son,  and  in  reward  of  his 
righteousness.    "  When  the  Comforter  is  come,  whom  I 


if'  M 


188 


lAim  FROM  THE  HOLY  GHOST.     [Lect.  XXXL 


will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  evetilfie  Spirit  of 
truth,  which  proceedeth  from  the  Father,  he  shall  tes- 
tify of  me,"  said  the  Saviour  (John  xv.  26)  ;  and  the  ^ 
apostle  Peter  at  the  Pentecost,  "  Therefore  being  (i.  e,  ' 
Christ)  at  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having 
received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
he  hath  shed  forth  this  which  ye  both  see  and  hear  " 
(Acts  ii.  33).  Thus  faith  is  itself  a  consequence  of 
the  righteousness  of  Christ ;  and  we  are  as  dependent 
upon  the  Holy  Ghost  for  faith  as  we  are  upon  the  Son 
for  atonement,  and  upon  the  Father  for  pardon. 

2.  The  Holy  Ghost  works  faith  in  the  heart  of  the 

sinner. 

Heart  is  here  used,  in  the  Scriptural  sense,  for  the 
moral  faculties  of  man.  It  is  the  renewed  man  that 
believes.  The  Holy  Ghost  does  not  believe  for  him, 
but  works  faith  in  him,  because  faith  is  a  personal  as- 
sent to  truth,  which  man  must  give  for  himself. 

Neither  is  faith  an  impulse,  instinct,  or  involuntary 
motioii,  but  the  free,  intelligent  exercise  of  a  rational 
agent,  who  believes  because  he  knows  what  is  truth 
upon  sufficient  testimony,  the  testimony  of  God.  It  is 
wrought  in  the  soul  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  not  against  the 
will,  or  contrary  to  the  laws  of  mind,  but  strictly  in 
accordance  with  our  rational  nature.  There  is,  indeed, 
a  new  life  shed  through  the  faculties,  freeing  them  from 
the  bondage  of  sense,  and  inspiring  them  with  energy 
to  perceive  the  truth  ;  yet  faith  is  the  result  of  convic- 
tion and  the  persuasion  of  the  understanding,  with  the 
choice  of  ibe  heart.  Hence  the  apostle  ssljs,  "We 
permmde  men  "  (2  Cor.  v.  11),  the  Saviour  declares 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  convinces  (reproves,  our  transla- 
tion has  it)  (John  xvi.  8),  and  the  apostle  again  sets 


Lect.  XXXLJ     FAITH  FROM  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  189 

forth  the  whole  process  thus  :  "  God,  who  commanded 
the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  our 
hearts  to  give  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  dory 
of  God  m  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ  "  (2  Cor  iv  6) 

The  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  not  the  less  sover- 
eign because  it  is  he  who  "  opens  "  (Ps.  cxix.  18)  and 
"  enhghtens  "  (Ephes.  i.  18)  the  understanding,  with- 
out which  we  could  not  see  or  know  what  is  truth. 
fetiJl,  faith  IS  the  gift  of  God  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  tliough  the  exercise  of  it  is  the  act  of  the  soul. 

3.  TJiis  faith  is  wrought  in  the  heart  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  through  certain  means. 

Though  we  cannot  doubt  that  there  is  an  immediate 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  the  soul,  we  are  taught 
that  this  new  life  is  given  through  the  truth,  as  man  in 
the  beginning  was  created  by  the  word  of  God.     Thus 
we  are  said  to  be  "  born  of  the  word  of  God  "  (1  Pet. 
1.  23),  to  be  "  begotten  again  unto  a  lively  hope  by  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ"  (1  Pet.  i.  3),  which  is 
the  great  confirmatory  fact  of  the  gospel.      The  word 
of  God  is  "  the  sword  of  tlie  Spirit "  (Ephes.  vi.  17), 
and  the  gospel  is  sent  to  every  creature.     "  Faith  com- 
eth  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God  " 
(Rom.  X.  14-17),  for  how  can  we  believe  in  him  of 
whom  we  have  not  heard  ?     We  have  no  reason  to  ex^ 
pect  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  except  throucrh  the 
truth.  ° 

This  brings  us  to  consider, 

Secondly  :  The  means  of  faith, 

"  The  Holy  Ghost  works  faith  in  our  hearts  by  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  confirms  it  by  the  use  of 
the  sacraments." 

Our  instructor  makes  a  distinction  between  "  work- 


190  FAITH  FROM  THE  IP-Y  GHOST.     [Lect.  XXXI. 

ing  faith"  and  "confirming"  it.     The  gospel  is  the 
testimony  which  we  are  to  believe,  the  sacraments  are 
the  corroboration  or  assurance  of  that  testimony  to  us. 
In  tto  words  of  an  old  divine  (good  Bishop  Jewell)  : 
H  As  pnnces'  seals  confirm  and  warrant  their  deeds  and 
charters,  so  do  the  sacraments  witness  to  our  conscience 
that  God's  promises  are  true  and  shall  continue  forever. 
Thus  doth  God  make  known  his  secret  purpose  to  his 
church :    First,  he  declareth  his  mercy  by  his  word, 
then  he  sealeth  it  and  assureth  it  by  his  sacraments.   In 
the  word  we  have  his  promises,  in  the  sacraments  we 
see  them."    Thus,  1.  The  gospel  is  the  truth  which  we 
are  to  believe.     2.  The  sacraments  confirm  it  to  us. 
1.  The  gospel  is  the  truth  which  we  are  to  believe. 
When  our  instructor  speaks  of  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel,  he  does  not  mean  only  the  preaching  of  his 
human  ministers,  though  that  is  a  principal  means  by 
which  he  gives  the  blessing  of  truth  (1  Cor.  i.  21)  ;  but 
he  properly  includes  the  manifestation  of  the  gospel  by 
the  word  of  God.     For  the  whole  Scripture  testifies  of 
Christ  (Luke  xxiv.  25-27).     The  gospel  was  preached 
anto  Abraham  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  before 
the  law  (Gal.  iii.  8),  and  to  the  antediluvian  sinners 
(1  Pet.  iii.  18,  19),  and  even  at  the  gate  of  Paradise 
in  the  first  promise  (Gen.  iii.  15).     The  gospel,  there- 
fore, is  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
We  are  to  receive  the  Scriptures  as  the  truth  of  God, 
because,  as  none  but  God  can  know  the  will  of  God, 
none  but  God  can  make  his  will  known  to  us. 

We  are  to  believe  all  the  Scriptures,  because  God 
has  revealed  to  us  all  the  truth  they  contain  as  neces- 
sary to  a  sufiicient  knowledge  of  himself,  ourselves,  and 
his  will  concerning  us. 


Lect.  XXXL]        FAITH  FROM  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  191 

We  are  to  receive  in  religious  faith  no  testimony  but 
that  of  God,  because  no  other  testimony  is  a  warrant 
for  religious  truth  ;  and  our  Lord  expressly  condemns 
the  Pliansees  of  his  time  for  mingling  traditions  of 
men  with  the  commandments  of  God  (Mark  vii  7)  • 
and  the  apostle  bids  us  "  beware  lest  any  man  spoil  us' 
....  after  the  traditions  of  men  "  (Col.  ii.  8). 

We  are  to  believe   the  word  of  God '  heartily,  the 
word  of  God  wholly,  and  the  word  of  God  only    as 
the  true,  perfect,  and  sole  rule  of  Christian  faith  and 
practice  (2  Tim.  iii.  15, 16, 17).     We  of  the  Reformed 
churches   allow  no   other  gospel  than  that  which  is 
taught  in  the  holy  Scriptures.     None  are  subdued  unto 
God  by  any  other  means  than  the  word  of  God   the 
sword  of  the  Spirit.      None  grow  in  grace  but  as  they 
grow  m  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  set  forth  by  the 
Scriptures.     There  is  no  means  of  sanctification  but  the 
truth  of  the  word  of  God,  as  our   Saviour  pi^yed, 
"  banctify  them  through  thy  truth ;  thy  word  is  truth  " 
(John  xvii.  17). 

2.  The  sacraments  confirm  the  gospel  to  our  souls. 

Here  three  questions  arise,  which  are  severally  an- 
swered by  our  instructor:  1.  What  is  a  sacrament? 
2.  To  what  end  are  they  appointed  ?  3.  How  many 
are  there  ?  ^ 

1.  What  is  a  sacrament  ? 

"  The  sacraments  are  holy,  visible  signs  and  seals 
appointed  of  God." 

The  word  sacrament  is  not  in  the  Scriptures,  but  is  a 
Latin  term  adopted  by  the  early  Christians  to  signify 
what  in  the  Greek  original  is  called  a  mystery.  Mys- 
tery is  a  term  used  by  the  Greeks  in  their  false  worship 
to  signify  a  ceremony  teaching  or  illustrating  a  rdiyiom 


r 


H 


in 


FAITH  FROM  THE  HOLY  GHOST.      [Lect.XXXI. 


doctrine  to  the  worshipper.  Strangers,  or  ignorant  per- 
sons, were  not  admitted  to  a  share  in  such  mysteries, 
but  only  those  who  were  devoted  to  the  study  and  prac- 
tice of  religion.  A  sacrament,  therefore,  as  translating 
mystery,  meant  a  ceremony  illustrating  religious  doc- 
trine. There  were  some  particular  uses  of  the  word 
among  the  Romans,  as  an  oath,  a  pledge,  &c.,  but  the 
early  church  gave  it  the  sense  which  its  derivation  war- 
rants. Our  instructor  accurately  defines  what  we  as 
Christians  understand  by  sacraments:  ''Holy  visible 
signs  and  seals  appointed  of  God  ....  to  declare  and 
seal  more  fully  to  us  the  promise  of  his  gospel." 

a.  A  sacrament  is  a  holy  sign,  or  a  sign  having  a 
boly  or  religious  character. 

It  is  an  outward,  sensible  form  or  ceremony,  in  which 
there  is  a  manifest  likeness  to,  or  representation  of,  the 
grace  presented  to  our  faith.  Thus,  the  washing  of 
baptism  presents  in  a  lively  figure  the  cleansing  of  our 
souls  by  the  grace  of  Christ ;  and  the  provisions  of  the 
Lord's  supper  the  nourishment  of  our  souls  by  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ  and  our  communion  or  fellowship  with 
his  true  body.  If  there  be  no  such  illustrative  sign, 
there  is  no  sacrament. 

h,  A  sacrament  is  a  seal  confirming  the  gospel,  whose 
grace  it  represents. 

It  is  more  than  a  mere  sign,  for  it  is  an  application  of 
grace  to  every  sincere,  intelligent  partaker  of  it ;  as 
God  said  of  circumcision,  which  was  a  sacrament  of  the 
Old  Testament  church :  "  This  is  my  covenant  between 
me  and  you,  and  thy  seed  after  thee.  Every  man-child 
among  you  shall  be  circumcised"  (Gen.  xvii.  10). 
A  due  performance  of  that  rite  was,  according  to  the 
appomtment  of  God,  a  reception  of  his  own  seal  to  the 


Leot.  XXXI.]     faith  FBOM  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  I93 

truth  of  his  promise ;  so,  by  the  appointment  of  God, 
do  the  sacraments  of  the  Christian  church  assure  the 
grace  which  they  represent  to  every  one  who  truly  re! 
ceives  them.  We,  by  using  the  sacraments  in  a  bS 
of  his  promise,  offer  our  hearts  to  God ;  and  he,  throulh 
the  sacraments,  seals  the  grace  upon  our  heart ,  not  in- 

Holv  XI :  '"*""'  ^^'^"'  '"^  ^^  *h^  P--  of  he 
tioiy  Ghost  accompanying  it. 

Wone  but  God  can  ordain  the  method  of  our  relie- 
jous  semce  because  he  only  is  the  object  of  such  si 
vice.  We  have,  therefore,  no  right  to  use  any  form  or 
ceremony  in  his  church  which  he  has  not  oZ^  I 
IS  the  word  of  Christ  commanding  us  to  be  "b!p  ized 

tSS  '  "^\'"\'^^«  *«  WHcation  of  water,  in 
that  holy  name,  to  the  believer  and  his  seed,  a  saJra- 
ment.  It  ,s  the  word  of  Christ  commanding  us  to  I 
m  remembrance  of  him,  which  makes  a  participation 
of  bread  and  wme  as  representatives  of  his  broken  body 
and  shed  blood,  a  sacrament.  That  is  no  sacrament 
which  has  not  been  expressly  instituted  by  him.  In  the 
language  of  Augustine,  as  adopted  by  the  protestant 
doctors:  "Join  the  word  of  Christ's  Ltitudonwkh 

sacr^me^i!"  ""*"'  ^"  ^•^^'  ^°'*  '''''''''  '^  '^^^^  * 
2.  To  what  end  are  the  sacraments  appointed  ? 
Ihey  are     says  our  instructor,  "  appointed  of  God 
for  th,s  end,  that  by  the  use  thereof  he  may  more  fol^ 
declare  and  seal  to  us  the  promise  of  the  gospel,  viz  •  thai 
he  grants  us  freely  the  remission  of  sin  !nd  life  et^r^al 
on  ictsi"  ^  ''  one  sacrifice  of  Christ,  accomplished 

VOL.   II.  J  3 


I 


ISA  FAITH  FROM  THE  HOLT  GHOST.    [Lect  XTO. 

■  The  thirty-third  article  of  our  confession  is  fuller  and 
yet  more  explicit :  "  We  believe  that  our  gracious  God, 
on  account  of  our  weakness  and  infinnities,  hath  or- 
dained the  sacraments  for  us,  thereby  to  seal  unto  us 
Mb  promises,  and  to  be  pledges  of  the  good-will  and 
grace  of  God  toward  us,  and  also  to  nourish  and 
strencrthen  our  faith:  which  he  hath  joined  to  the 
word^of  the  gospel,  the  better  to  present  to  our  senses 
both  that  which  he  signifies  to  us  by  his  word,  and  that 
which  he  works  inwardly  in  our  hearts,  thereby  assur- 
ing and  confirming  in  us  the  salvation  which  he  imparts 

to  us."  .  - 

The  purpose  of  the  sacraments  is  to  confirm  our 

faith  in  the  promises  of  the  gospel.  This  they  do,  not 
of  themselves,  but  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ac- 
companying them  to  every  true  partaker  of  them. 

0.  They  represent  to  our  senses  by  sigmficant  em- 
blems the  doctrine  of  Christ's  grace.      Because  of  our 
spiritual  weakness  and  ignorance  of  spiritual  thmgs, 
God  has  condescended  to  arrest  the  attention  of  our 
senses  themselves  by  these  perceptible  signs  or  emblems 
of  the  truth  which  he  addresses  to  our  mmds,  that  so 
our  senses  may  assist  our  minds  in  meditating  upon  and 
understanding  the  truth.     We  find  the  necessity  of  il- 
lustrating spiritual  things  by  figures  taken  from  natuml 
things  constant,  for  our  very  language  is  framed  chiefly 
to  speak  of  what  we  perceive  outwardly  by  our  senses. 
Our  divine  Master  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  throughout  the 
Scriptures,  have  regard  to  our  infirmities  by  explaining 
»  heavenly  things  "  by  "  earthly  "  (John  hi.  12).     The 
sacraments  are  such  figures  made  visible  by  actual  cere- 
mony      Thus  the  remission  of  sins  and  sanctification  ot 
the  soul  by  the  atonemeiA  of  Christ,  and  the  power  of 


L-CT.XXXI.]     FAITH  FROM  THE  HOLT  GHOST.  tgg 

the  Spirit,  is  called  a  washing,  a  sprinkling,  a  cleansin.. 

Inis   mercy  of  God  i«!    i\.Z,  r  "^»  **  t^ieansing. 

senses  h^r  fL  v  •  '  ^^^^^^^^^^  represented  to  our 
senses  by  the  application  of  water  thJa^  .        . 

may  be  fixed  unon  th.         T    i  '  '''  ''''''  attention 

J  uc  iiAeu  upon  the  spiritual  truth       Tlio  Q     • 

declaresthat  his  doctrine!  the  word  of  C  oHI  ^  °"' 
the  proper  nourishment  of  the  soul  1  K      /     ™'  '' 

rates  and  wine  refreshes  the  b  dy  Ind  thT/'T 
sacramPTif  r.f  ^i,  -^ '  ^"^'  therefore,  the 

n>ayV  reminded  of  ou    ZZLII  T"'  *'""' 

S,t::.;b?c:it-^^^^^^^^ 

c  i,uines  again   to  receive  us  unto  JiimooK^ 
The  sacraments  add  nothing  to  the  truth  ht^fK. 
sist  us  in  understanding  it  mtre  cWll      J       '    T  ^ 
it  to  ourselves  more  clo^sdy  ''^'  '"*^ '"  ^PP'^'"S 

b    The  sacmments  are  open  exhibitions  to  others  of 
hat  covenant  by  which  believers  are  united  whP  1 
ni  CW,  and  through  Christ  with  hi^^  Cd^^Hs 

of  hiWiLce"  'Th?  ''^  r^'^  ^  ""'  "'^-^  «>^  h- 
or  ins  grace.     They  are  to  make  known  his  eosoel  to 

fro!  :LZtri'::prt  tit  \r  --^ 

and  Mow  him;  and  to  h^ J^X  oT  XS 

the^'ori?  rjir'^'  *'^"'^'  *'"'^  "^-^^'-ti-  fr- 

and  senan  s  of  cL^r:h:;,d\r'  t "'  'I  ''''''-' 
exhibited  •  tl,»t  fik       \     ,.  ,       °P®"'^  professed  and 

tha  whf  L?K  7'  '""^  '^P^^^«'^«  representation  of 
llli  *7r''"°-J-<lge  in  their  hearts.  For  W 
shall  the  worid  know  that  there  is  a  chnrcb    ifV 

mam  invisible?    How  shall  Christians  w't^L",.? 


^96  FAHH  FROM  THE  HOLY  GHOST.     [Lect.  XXXI. 

have  brethren  in  Christ,  if  they  do  "ot  confess  them- 
selves'    How  shall  they  testify  to  the  faith  of  Christ, 
except  before  men  ?     Thus,  in  baptism,  the  believer 
declares  that  he  dedicates  himself,  or,  so  far  as  a  parent 
«B  act  for  his  child,  his  offspring  to  the  service  ot 
Christ,  upon  the  washing  of  whose  blood  he  relies  tor 
the  remission  of  sins.     In  the  Lord's  supper,  he  ratifies 
his  promise  of  fidelity  to  Christ,  and  acknowledges  a 
brotherly  fellowship  with  the  people  of  Christ,  who 
wrwond  as  one  family  the  holy  table,  and  partake  ot 
tlie  same  bread  and  cup,  the  sensible  emblems  of  Christ  s 
broken  body  and  shed  blood,  thereby  uniting  themselves 
to  each  other  as  they  are  united  to  their  common  head. 
Christians  show  forth  all  this  to  the  world  by  sacra- 
ments, illustrating  it  in  a  most  lively  manner  ;  and  by 
so  doing  they  are  confirmed  in  their  faith,  not  only  by 
the  representation  made,  but  by  the  fact  that  they  obey 
the  command  of  Christ  their  Lord. 

e    The  sacraments   and   pledges   of   the   grace  ot 
Christ  testifying  his  spiritual  presence  with  his  church 

until  he  come.  •  • ,        rpi. 

When  God  instituted  circumcision,  he  said:  "  ihou 

shalt  keep  my  covenant  therefore,  thou,  and  thy  seed 
after  thee  in  their  generations.     This  is  my  covenant 
which  ye  shall  keep,  between  me  and  you,  and  thy  seed 
after  diee :  Every  man-child  among  you  shall  be  cir- 
cumcised."  (Genesis   xvii.   9,  10.)     That  is  to  say, 
every  time  the  parent,  in  obedience  to  the  divine  com- 
mand, and  reliance  upon  the  divine  promise,  should 
circumcise  a  child,  thereby  dedicating  him  to  God, 
God  would  ratify  on  his  part  the  covenant  made  with 
Abraham  for  himself  and  his  seed,  until  the  promise  of 
the  Saviour  should  be  ftdfiUed.    In  like  manner  God 


I 


LlOT.XXXL]      FAITH  FROM  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  I97 

commanded  the  Passover  to  be  kept  as  a  perpetual  or- 
dmance  (Exodus  xii.  24),  that,  being  reminded  of  the 
dehverance  wrought  for  them  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
Egyptians,  the  Israelites  might  acknowledge  and  put 
their  trust  in  God  as  their  constant  protector  and   re- 
deemer.   So,  every  time  that  the  sacraments  are  admin- 
istered, does  Christ  renew  and  confirm  his  covenant, 
setting  forth  his  spiritual  presence  and  power  to  wash 
away  sin  and  to  keep  his  people.     For  although  bap- 
tism, being  the  ordinance  initiatory  to  the  visible  church, 
may  not  be  administered  more  than  once  to  the  same 
person,  yet  are  we  reminded  of  our  own  baptism,  and 
of  the  grace  of  Christ  signified  by  it,  whenever  before 
the  church  it  is  administered  to  another,  while  of  the 
Lord's  supper  we  are   required  often  to  partake,  not 
only  in  remembrance  of  Christ's  death,  but  in  hope  of 
his  coming  and  belief  of  his  presence,  as  we  learn  from 
the  nature  of  the  ordinance  and  the  words  of  the  apos- 
tle Paul :  "  For  as  oft  as  ye  eat  this  bread  and  drink 
this  cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come'' 
(1  Cor.  xi.  26).     It  is  the  commemoration  of  his  death, 
with  sensible  signs  of  his  presence,  and  until  he  come. 
Whoever  by  faith  receives  the  sacraments,  does  in  so 
doing  receive  personally  the  promise  and  grace  of  the 
Saviour  represented  in  them,  and  as  a  member  of  his 
church   has  a  confirmation  of  Christ's   grace   to  the 
church. 

3.  How  many  sacraments  are  there  ? 
"  Two  :  namely.  Holy  Baptism,  and  the  Holy  Sup- 
per." 

There  is  no  need  of  argument  to  prove  this  assertion 
of  our  instructor,  for  only  baptism  and  the  Lord's  sup- 
per have  the  marks  and  institution  by  Christ,  which  we 


1Q«  fllTH  FROM  THE  HOLY  GHOST.     [Lect.  XXXI. 

have  sliown  to  dHaracterize  a  sacrament.      So  taught 
the  early  fathers,  as  Augustine,  Ambrose,  and  many 
before  them  ;  for  although  some  of  them  speak  of  other 
religious  things  sometimes  as  sacraments,  they  meant 
only  that  they  were  sacred  mysteries,  but  not  sacra- 
ments as  we  have  defined  them.     Even  the  Papists, 
who  call  confirmation,  penance,  extreme  unction,  matri- 
mony, and  holy  orders,  sacraments,  do  not,  according 
In  their  learned  authors,  consider  them  as  fully  sacra- 
ments as  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper,  but  eminently 
sacred  things.   So  Bessarijon  says,  "  We  read  that  these 
two  only  sacraments  were  delivered  as  plainly  in  the 
gospel."  .  The  entire  Protestant  church  is  agreed  in 
receiving  these  two  only  as  sacraments. 

Let  us,  therefore,  learn  from  the  whole  subject  — 
1.  Our  entire  dependence  upon  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  for  faith,  in  its  beginning,  growth,  and 
perfection.  It  is  an  essential  part  of  that  sanctifying 
salvation,  which  God  bestows  through  Jesus  Christ  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Neither  the  word  of  the  gospel  which 
proclaims  salvation,  nor  the  sacraments  which  seal  and 
confirm  the  word,  can  avail  us  anything,  except  the 
Holy  Ghost  communicates  with  them,  and  through 
them,  his  saving  energy. 

2.  The  truth  of  God  as  revealed  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  is  the  sole  instrument  of  our  salva- 
tion. 

It  is  only  by  our  belief  of  that  word  God  has  prom- 
ised to  sanctify  our  heart ;  and,  therefore,  no  grace  is 
communicated  through  any  ceremony  or  form,  how- 
ever sacred,  not  even  the  sacraments,  except  we  have 
a  believing  apprehension  of  the  truth  represented  by 
them.      The  grace   of  the  sacraments  is  not  in  the 


Lect.  XXXL]     FAITH  FROM  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  I99 

water,  or  the  bread  and  wine,  which  are  only  external, 
eorporeal  signs  but  in  the  truth  they  present  to  everJ 
soul  who  obediently  receives  them.  / 

^  3.  The  great  purpose  of  both  word  and  sacraments 
IS  to  direct  us  "  to  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ  on  the 
cross  as  the  only  ground  of  our  salvation." 

We  are  not  to  rely  upon  any  reading  of  the  word, 
or  participation  of  the  sacraments,  or  upon  any  cere^ 
mony  we  perform,  or  any  work  that  we  do,  for  our  sal- 
vation ;  they  are  only  the  means  which  show  us  the 
true  ground  of  our  faith,  the  sufficient  finished  work 
ot  Chnst.     It  IS  a  base  and  heathenish  abuse  of  the 

^^oF^.  ^'  *^^^  ^'^'^  ^"^^  ^^^--^  ^'  *-^ 

4.  Our  duty  and  encouragement  to  use  diligently 
the  means  of  grace,  especially  the  word  of  God  and 
the  sacraments. 

Though  we  are  entirely  dependent  upon  the  grace 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  yet  doth  God  require  of  us  our 
own  efforts  to  attain  his  salvation.    He  has  commanded 
us  to  search  his  Scriptures,  to  be  baptized,  and  to  ob- 
r!t  *^^f  ^'^"lentel  feast  in  remembrance  of  the 
dea  h  of  Chnst.     Through  these  means,  the  word  in 
makmg  known  his  promises,  and  the  sacraments  in  con- 
firming them,  he  has  promised  to  answer  our  prayers 
for  his  divine  assistance.     Our  neglect  to  use  the  ap- 
pointed means  of  blessing,  is,  therefore,  a  refusal  of 
the  blessing  Itself;  but  when  we  use  them,  we  do,  by 
feith  and  in  obedience  to  him,  open  into  our  souls  the 
channels  of  h.s  saving  grace.     His  promise  is  to  the 
behevmg^  and  the  proof  of  faith  is  obedience.      To 
disobey  God,  in  not  using  the   means  of  grace,  is  to 


200  B-AITH  FROM  THE  HOLY  GHOST.    [Lect.  XXXI. 

shut  ourselves  out  of  the  promise  ;  to  obey  him  in  these 
sacred  duties,  is  not,  indeed,  to  merit  any  favor,  but  it 
is  to  do  that  in  the  doing  of  which  he  is  graciously 
pleased  to  confer  his  favor  only  for  the  sake  of  Jesus 
Christ  the  Lord,  our  righteousness  and  strength. 


LECTURE  XXXII. 


BAPTISM. 


No.  I. 
ITS  AUTHORITY  AND  DESIGN. 


)  ! 


TWENTY-SIXTH  AND  TWENTY-SEVENTH  LORD'S 

DAYS. 


BAPTISM. 

I.'— ITS  AUTHORITY  AND  DESIGN. 

TWENTY-SIXTH  LORD's   DAY. 

Quest.  LXIX.    How  art  thou  admonished  and  assured  by  holy  baptism,  that 

the  one  sacrijice  of  Christ  upon  the  cross  is  of  real  advantage  to  thee  ? 
Ans.    Thus:    that  Christ  appointed  this    external  washing  with  water 
adding  thereto  this  promise,  that  I  am  as  certainly  washed  by  his 
blood  and  Spirit  from  all  the  pollution  of  my  soul,  thit  is,  from  all  my 
8ins,  as  I  am  washed  externally  with  water,  by  which  the  filthiness  of 
the  body  is  commonly  washed  away. 
Quest.  LXX.     What  is  it  to  be  washed  with  the  blood  and  Spirit  of  Christ  f 
Ans.    It  is  to  receive  of  God  the  remission  of  sins  freely  for  the  sake  of 
Christ's  blood,  which  he  shed  for  us  by  his  sacrifice  on  the  cross;  and 
also,  to  be  renewed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  sanctified  to  be  members 
of  Christ;  so  that  we  may  more  and  more  die  unto  sin,  and  lead  holy 
and  unblamable  lives. 
Quest.  LXXI.     Where  has  Christ  promised  us  that  he  mil  as  certainly  wash 

us  by  his  blood  and  Spirit,  as  we  are  washed  with  the  water  of  baptism  ? 
Ans.  At  the  institution  of  baptism,  which  is  thus  expressed:  "Go  ye, 
therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost; "  "  He  that  believeth 
and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved;  but  he  that  believeth  not,  shall  be 
damned."  The  promise  is  also  repeated,  where  the  Scripture  calls 
baptism,  "the  washing  of  regeneration,"  and  "the  washing  away  of 
sins." 

TWENTY-SEVENTH  LORd's   DAY.  ' 

Quest.  LXXII.    Is,  then,  the  external  baptism  with  water  the  washing  away 
of  sin  itself? 

Ans.    Not  at  all;  for  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  only,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
cleanse  us  from  all  sin. 


II 


I 


204 


BAPTISM : 


[Lect.  XXXII. 


washed  with  water. 

QUEST.  LXXIV.    ^re  in/a^'^  «^«;/^   it^ll.re  included  in  the  cove- 
rs.   Yes;  for  since  they,  as  well  as  the  adult  are  ^n^luded  m 

nant  and  church  of  God,  and  since  -^^if  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  to  the 

circumcision,  instead  of  which  baptism  is  mstituted  m  the  new 
'         nant.* 

THE  lesson  before  us  includes  the  whole  doctrine  of 
i  Christian  baptism,  to  a  somewhat  enlarged,  though 
m  concise  exposition  of  which  our  thoughts  will  now 

be  directed.  ,  ^  j    ^r  4.1^^ 

It  must  be  remembered  throughout  our  study  of  the 

Catechism,  that  the  person  questioned  is  ^-f^f^^ 
be  a  truly  regenerate  Christian,  who  has  had  m  his 
tn  «perien!e  the  proof  of  the  divine  *;f?;^^^t 
his  answers  set  forth.  This  will  account  for  the  posi- 
tive and  assured  manner  of  his  fnung  a  personal 
concern  in  the  several  blessings  of  a  Christian  he 

For  the  sake  of  greater  convenience  m  our  analysis 
and  explanation  of  the  matter  here  treated  by  the 
Irch. let  us  arrange  the  whole  under  the  following 

^'SrstT  The  avihrntyfirr  mr  u»e  of  Christian  Up- 
Urn.    Secondly  :   The  design  of  Ohridian  bapiim. 

,  WeUke these  two  section,  ^''^^l^l^^^ZT:^^ t'tf^^t'- 
Sng  r  ^rrJZ  ~ed'  .Tbotb  at  each  stage  of  .he  exposifon. 


Lect.  XXXIL]      ITS  AUTHORITY  AND  DESIGN. 


205 


Thirdly:  The  mode  of  its  administration.  Fourthly: 
The  subjects  to  whom  it  should  be  administered. 

First  :  The  authority  for  our  use  of  Christian  bap- 
tism, 

Baptisyn,  simply  speaking,  is  the  application  of  water, 
as  in  the  act  of  washing  or  cleansing;   Christian  bap- 
tism is  the  application  of  water  to  a  person  "  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Eoly  Ghost:' 
'^I  indeed,"  said  John  the  Baptist,  "baptize  you  with 
water,  but  one  mightier  than  I  cometh,  the  latchet  of 
whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose  ;  he  shall  bap- 
tize you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire  "  (Luke  iii. 
16).     This  shows  that  the  significance  of  baptism  lies 
in  the  application  of  the  element  to  the  person,  not  of 
the  person  to  the  element.     "  Go  ye,  therefore,"  said 
our  Lord  to  his  apostles,  "  and  teach  all  nations,  baptiz- 
ing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost "  (Matt,  xxviii.  19).      This 
shows  that  the  pronouncing  of  the  words  prescribed,  at 
the  time  of  applying  the  element,  is  necessary  to  the 
sacrament;    indeed,  it  were  else   utterly  unmeaning. 
That  water  is  the  proper  and  only  element  to  be  used, 
we  learn  from  many  Scriptures,  especially  from  that 
giving  an  account  of  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  baptizing 
(Acts  viii.  36-38)  ;  and  the  question  of  Peter,  the 
apostle,  before  baptizing  the  household  of  Cornelius: 
"  Can  any  man  forbid  water,  that  these  should  not  be 
baptized  which  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as  well 
as  we  ?  "  (Acts  x.  47.)     The  definition  we  have  given 
may,  therefore,  suffice  until  we  come  to  speak  more 
particularly  of  the  mode  in  which  baptism  should  be 
administered.     The  authority  for  our  use  of  this  exter- 
nal  baptism,  or  the  propriety  of  our  administering  it,  is 


.-} 


W 


w 


206 


BAPTISM  » 


[Lect.  XXXII. 


Pfi 


not  qnesfioned  hf  any  known  portion  of  ^^f^^J^^ 
themselves  Cl.ristians,  except  the  Society  of  Fiiends 
but,  as  we  derive  our  warrant  for  any  Christian  cus  om 
onlj-  from  the  word  of  God,  let  us  refer  to  that  absolute 

and  infallible  oracle.  ,     ,      ,      i     f  1,;= 

I  The  command  of  our  Lord,  the  head  of  his 
church,  cited  but  a  moment  since,  is  positive.  He 
enjoined  upon  his  disciples  to  baptize,  as  certainly  as  he 
did  to  teach,  all  nations.  This  sacrament,  therefore, 
♦ith  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  lies  at  the  iounda- 
tion  of  the  Christian  church.  Wherever  tbe  word  of 
Christ  is  proclaimed  and  men  are  «  d.scipled,  or  truly 
learn  and  believe  the  glad  tidings,  baptism  is  to  be 

administered.  , 

II    That  the  ordinance  was  not  temporary,  or  only 

i,t  the  beginning  of  the  church,  -  ?^-^f2clmrnd" 
ise  annexed,  which  shows  the  duration  of  the  command . 
«  Lo  '  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world  "  or  the  consummation  of  the  present  economy 
mm.  xxviii.  20).  Until  all  nations  shall  have  been 
"  discipled,"  and  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  on  earth 
made  complete  by  the  universal  triumph  of  his  gospel^ 
his  word  is  to  be  preached  and  baptism  continued  with 
it.     This  is  farther  confirmed  by  .  .        ,       i 

III  The  inspired  practice  of  the  primitive  church. 
The  administration  of  baptism  was  not  restricted  to  the 
hands  of  the  apostles,  but  all  the  authorized  preachers 
of  the  gospel  appear  to  have  baptized  also.  ihus 
Philip  first  ordained  a  deacon,  but  afterwards,  as  we 
may  suppose,  advanced  to  be  an  evangelist,  since  the 
deacon's  office  (purposely  distinct  from  that  of  those 
who  gave  themselves  "continually  to  prayer  and  the 
ministry  of  the  word  ")  was  the  care  of  the  poor  (Acts 


Lect.xxxii.]    its  authority  and  design.  207 

vi.  2-4),  baptized  many  in  Samaria,  the  Ethiopian 
eunuch,  and  doubtless  a  multitude  of  other  converts, 
under  his  successful  ministry  (viii.  27-38).     Paul  was 
baptized  at  Damascus  (ix.  18)  three  years  before  he 
ever  saw  a  brother  apostle  (Gal.  i.  17,  18)  ;  and  he 
afterwards  speaks  of  the  Corinthian  Christians  as  hav- 
ing  been  baptized,  although  he  himself  had  baptized 
none  of  them  but  Crispus,  Gains,  and  the  household  of 
Stephanas  (1  Cor.  i.  13-16)  ;  so  he  says  to  the  Gala- 
tian  converts  and  to  all  Christians  :  "  As  many  of  you 
as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have  put  on  Christ  " 
(Gal.  iii.  27),  implying  that  only  they  who  had  been 
baptized  had   put    on   Christ;     which   accords   with 
Christ's   own  declaration,  "He  that  believeth  and  is 
baptized  shall  be  saved  "  (Mark  xvi.  16),  and  the  com- 
mand of  the  apostle  Peter  at  the  Pentecost,  "  Repent 
and  be  baptized,  every  one  of  you,  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  "  (Acts  ii.  38).     This  practice  of  baptizing 
every  person   who   desired  to  confess   the  Christian 
faith,  thus  indubitably  observed  during  the  apostolic 
age,  was  maintained  by  the  whole  Christian  world,  un- 
til the  preaching  of  George  Fox,  about  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth  century ;  nor  has  it  ever  been  ques- 
tioned but  by  his  disciples.* 

Secondly  :  The  design  of  Christian  baptism. 
It  being  the  purpose  of  God  in  Christ  to  constitute 
his  church  visibly  on  earth,  certain  visible,  palpable 
rites,  or  acted  forms,  became  necessary,  by  whioh  his 

*  This  statement  needs  some  qualification,  if  we  allow  the  Valentinians 
and  Manicheans  to  have  been  Christians.  There  was  also  a  Carthaginian 
woman  QmntiUa  who  preached  that  baptism  was  useless,  and  who  had 
some  followers.  Ihe  Messalians,  a  small  absurd  sect,  are  thought  by 
some  to  have  rejected  baptism,  but  it  is  not  certain.  See  WalL  Part  II. 
ch.  5. 


¥ 


!l 


II I 


208 


BAPTISM: 


[Lect.  XXXIl. 


gracious  wUl  concerning  his  people  should  be  expressed 
rrp^,  and  recognized  on  theirs.     Such  fonns,  m 
adinl^D  the  sure  divine  word  of  prophecy,  were 
^Zi  provided  under  the   Old   Testament,  by 
"SSg  which  God  visibly  prefigured  the  bless^^ 
"i^vlon,  and  by  using  which  the  true  Israeh^ 
avowed  his  faith  in  the  implied  promises.     They  were, 
therefore,  manifest  seals  of  his  covenant  with  them  and 
If  their  covenant  with  him.     The  dispen^Uon  of  Ae 
New  Testament,  or  covenant,  bemg  ™"'ly  f  !* 
«,1.  and  the  way  of  salvation  folly  declared  by  the 
work  of  Christ,  as  set  forth  in  the  evangelical  Scnp- 
TuS,  but  more  especially  by  the  enlarged  testimony 
72e  Holy  Ghost  to  our  hearts,  the  rites  commemora- 
tive of  Christ  were  not  required  to  be  so  many  as  those 
wWch    now  done  away  by  their  fulfilment  m  Chnst 
JS  before  prefigured  him.     Nay,  though  some  su^h 
forms  were  necessary,  our  Lord  was  careful  to  teach  us 
thThis  relicrion  is  not  in  form,  but  spirit,  by  ordaming 
f^htten  shown,  twenty-fifth  Lord's  Day)  only 
two,  and  those  of  the  most  simple  character. 

As,  also,  the  gospel  was  first  preached  to  the  Jews, 
and  the  rites  of  the  Old  Testament  were,  though  typi- 
cal   eloquently  illustrative  of  the  gospel,  our  Lord  in 
Ws'  condescending  wisdom  chose  for  his  church  such 
sacramental  signs  and  seals  as  nearly  resembled  those  of 
SHLlete  dispensation.     The  two  great  sacramenta 
type*  were  circumcision  and  the  passover :    the  tot 
behig  the  introduction  of  the  new-bom  Israelite,  or  ot 
the  'adult  proselyte,  to  the  blessings  of  the  eternal 
covenant ;   the  second,  a  personal  confirmation  of  the 
covenant  to  and  by  the  circumcised  one      C-umc..on 
signified  "the  putting  away  of  the  filth  of  the  flesh 


• 


L-cr.KXIIO       ITS  AUTHOEITT  AND  DESIGN.     .  209 

H^g  of  water  an'a  the^l'^d  ^f  i^ir^S/P^st 

Sd  sa^t  fitbr  siiirLird^^^ 

angel,  was  partaken  of  as  fooT  bvTh  S"^'"^ 

typified  Jesus,  the  Lamb  of  God  ll  ^""^hW^rs. 
salvation  of  his  people  flm  L  ^ W  Go^o,  \-\^ 
dehverance  all  who  believe  in  ^^1  p^^kl  j' 
family  in  common  ;  but  this  redemnfmn  P^"^*'^'.^^  * 
fied  by  all  Levitic'al  sacrificeforat^  ™  ^^^^ 
c.rcumci,on  and  the  passover  compS  '  in  thS 
Significance  all  the  ritps  nf  +!,«         • 

together  having  i^  t^  11  eLTcl«lie^ 
mg,  redemption,  and  fellowship.     The  W,  '" 

as  we  shall  have  farther  occasio,^  Jl  '^P^''' 

in  the  Dlace  nf  tK..  p      i^,  ^^°'^'  ^'^^  ordained 

ing  Lt  strip  JJ/T^^^^  '''""''"^'  ""^^"^-J  h«^- 

c^stalerrX  to    h^y S^^^^^^^^^  t 

and  made  itassimplf  as  .tZ^oulii    heC 
ful  sacrament  of  household  love.  ^' 

Baptism  was  ordained  in  the  nlano  ^f  „• 
That  was  a  pai„f„,  ordinL  e  (fe'lfseT"^- 
therefore  unsuited  to  the  mercy  of  th"  1^^'  fif' 
sides  while  signifying  the  cleansing  of  the  flesh  it  ^"a 
another  meaning,  rendered  obsolefe  by  tL  til'!? 
Chnst :  the  promise  of  the  Messiah  thigh  T™ 

Sr/uf  S^i---^^  -     TfeoeheHj: 

h/as^^— ^^^^ 
nant  was  also  preserved  by  this  symbolical  waling,;: 


4 


f 


210 


BAPTISM  : 


[Lect.  XXXII. 


we  read  that  Moses,  after  the  giving  of  the  moral  law, 
«  took  the  blood  "  «  of  peace-offerings  "  "  and  spnnk  ed 
it  on  the  people,  and  said,  Behold  the  blood  of  the 
covenant  which  the  Lord  hath  made  with  you  concem- 
Z  all  these  words  "  (Ex.  xxiv.  5-8).  It  >s  proper  for 
you  to  mark  here,  though  we  shall  speak  of  it  again, 
how  very  simple  and  stripped  of  all  other  ceremony  is 
the  ordinance  of  baptism  according  to  our  Lord  s  insti- 
tution of  it, -as  simple  as  the  washing  or  spnnkhng 

with  water.  ,  ^i,    «„j 

We  are  now  better  prepared  to  see  what  was  the  end 
our  Lord  proposed  in  ordaining  the  sacrament  of  Chris- 
tian baptism  for  the  confirmation  of  our  faith  ;  and,  to  - 
lowing  the  order  of  our  catechetical  instructor,  we  shall 
irH  observe  what  it  is,  and  then,  what  it  is  not. 

I  The  first  question  may  be  met  by  saying  that 
Christian  baptism  is  a  sign,  a  seal,  and  a  professr^i :  a 
»{gn,  as  it  is  significant  of  certain  truths  ;  a  seal,  as  i 
is  an  assurance  of  certain  benefits;  and  aprofesswn,^ 
the  recipient  on  his  own  part  makes  a  profession  to  the 
church,  and  the  church  by  baptizing  him  makes  a  pro- 
fession to  him  on  behalf  of  God. 

1.  Christian  baptism  is  a  sign,  being  significant  of 

certain  truths.  _      . 

What  these  truths  are,  we  gather  from  the  Answers 

to  the  69th  and  70th  Questions  :  —  ^  .    -  ,    , 

"  Eow  art  thou  admonished  and  assured  hy  holt/  bap- 
tism, that  the  one  saerifiee  of  Christ  upon  the  cross  is  of 
real  advantage  to  thee  f" 

«  Thus :  that  Christ  appointed  this  external  washing 
with  water,  adding  thereto  this  promise  that  I  am  as 
certainly  washed  by  his  blood  and  spirit  from  all  the 
pollution  of  my  soul,  that  is,  from  all  my  sins,  as  I  am 


LECT.  XXXn.]      ITS  ACTHORITY  AND  DESIGN.  211 

ot  the  body  is  commonly  washed  away  " 
ofcZf^r'  ''  *"  *'  '"'"'^^^h  the  Mood  and  spirit 

"It  is  to  i-eceive  of  God  the  remission  of  sins  freely 
for  the  sake  of  Christ's  blood,  which  he  shed  for  us  W 

th    H„I    r?^""  */  "°"  '  ^"'^  ^'-  *°  be  renewed  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  sanctified  to  be  members  of  Christ  • 

^iZlluTlt^,  '^'''  ''^ """  ^^'"  -^  '-^  '^'y 

The  whole  may  be  summed  up  as  declaring  the  ac- 
ceptableness  of  believing  sinners  to  God  thf  Father 

Srt  •  r  "f  ^  "'  '""^  ^''"^*'  ''y  '^^  grace  of  the 
Hojy  Spint.     So  we  are  baptized  in  the  name  of  the 

Fa  her  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost     For 

ahhough  our  eternal  life  comes  from  the  Godhead,  each 

of  the  pereons  constituting,  in  our  blessed  Trinit^  the 

one  God,  has  his  peculiar  office,  according  to  ^hf  £ 

of  redemption :  the  Father  repi^senting  fhe  authoS 

and  honor  of  the  Godhead  ;  the  Son,  ^  the  incarnate 

TceTr''"^,  *'  r '"^  P'"™  f-  *he  ac'^t! 
ance  of  his  people;   and  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  his  al- 

rhSbTrS^^'^'?  *%*'^  '''''  ''^  •'^ 'fi^  P- 

cliased  by  the  Son,  and  conferred  by  the  Father. 

a.  Chris  lan  baptism  signifies  the  acceptableness  of 
believing  smners  to  God  the  Father.     Bdiever.  in  the 

fhetnsTGo^'-rr/"'-  f^  P^^^^*-)  ^^^'-o- 
the  sons  of  God     (John  i.  12).     This  adopted  sonshin 

hi^tfrT^t""-"'  '°  '  '"■-"^^^  ''^g-'^f  the-n' 

ttn  he  W.  """"  ^'"^  ''^'"••^  ''^  f«»-     That  rela- 

tion he  lost  by  sin  ;  consequently,  when  his  sin  is  expi- 
ated pardoned,  or  washed  away,  he  is  restored  te  his 
place  in  the  family  of  God.     Hence,  baptism  is  said  to 


BAPTISM: 


[Lect.XXXII. 


*be,  or  rather  it  signifies,  [for,  strwfly,  the  expression  of 
the  apostle  Paul  (Titus  iii.  5)  refers  to  the  grace,  and 
not  the  sacramental  sign,]  "  The  washing  of  regenera- 
tion, and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost."     The  penitent 
is  introduced  to  a  new  life,  eternal  life,  having  been  be- 
gotten and  born  again  by  the  power  of  God  to  be  his 
Son  ;  so  he  receives  the  washing  to  signify  the  change 
from  the  sin  which  made  him  offensive,  to  the  right- 
eousness which  makes  him  acceptable,  in  the  sight  ot 
God.     All  the  advantages  of  adoption  are  promised  by 
the  adopting  act ;  so  the  church  says  in  her  baptismal 
form :  "  When  we  are  baptized  in  the  name  ot  the 
Father,  God  the  Father  witnesseth  and  sealeth  unto  us 
that  he  doth  make  an  eternal  covenant  of  grace  with 
us,  and  adopts  us  for  his  children  and  heirs,  and,  there- 
fore, will  provide  us  with  every  good  thing,  and  avert 

«U  evil,  or  turn  it  to  our  good."  cnu  •  .' 

b.  Christian  baptism  signifies  the  sheddmg  of  Christ  s 
blood  in  his  one  sacrifice  on  the  cross  for  the  remission 
of  sins.     The  life  of  the  sinner,  being  forfeited  to  the 
law,  could  be  redeemed  only  by  the  life  of  his  surety  or 
substitute,  for  the  penalty  must  be  satisfied.      Hence, 
Christ  died  for  us  ;  and  as,  according  to  the  Scripture, 
the  blood  is  the  life  (Lev.  xvii.  11),  the  shedding  of 
his  blood  is  put  for  the  offering  of  his  life,  that  is,  tor 
his  death.      Thus,  all  the  typical  sacrifices  of  atone- 
ment were  sacrifices  of  life,  for  "  without  the  shedding 
of  blood  there  is  no  remission"  (Heb.  ix.  22).     ihe 
blood  of  the  offered  victim  was,  in  the  great  sacnfice  ot 
atonement,  sprinkled  upon  the  propitiatory  or  covenng 
of  the  ark  which  contained  the  broken  law,  "  for  an 
atonement,"  "  because  of  the  uncleanness  of  the  chi  - 
dren  of  Israel,  and  because  of  their  transgressions  m  all 


I-ECT.  XXXII.]     ITS  AUTHORITY  AND  DESIGN.  213 

fofl  "'"'."  -S^T-  f '•  ^^>-     ^^^'^  the  sacrifice  was 
for  an  ,„d,v.dual,  the  blood  of  the  victim,  poured  o^ 
upon  the  altar,  was  specially  sprinkled  by   he  priel  on 
the  person  of  the  sinner      Ti,.;^  k    .■      V   •      ^ 
K„*i:  *!.  .  ^""^  baptism  brings  to  mind 

both  the  pouring  out  of  Christ's  blood  before  God  as  a 
propitiauon  to  the  broken  law,  and  the  special  Wfit 
of  that  blood  to  each  individual  penitent     Guilt  (or 

consderedas  defilement;  so  the  taking  away  of  guik 
-  aptly  expressed  by  washing,  to  repres°ent  which,  Sn 
pie  sprinklmg  was  considered,  under  the  Old  Te  t^ 

nnd  r  the  New.  Fro„»  the  sacrificial  substitution  of 
Christ  for  his  people  flow  all  the  benefits  obtained  by 
hs  representative  work  ;  hence,  the  church  in  her  bap^ 

us  m  his  blood  from  all  our  sins,  incorporating  us  into 
are  teTf  '  „'''  '"*'  ''"''  resurrection,  so^hat  we 
fore  God  ^"       °"''  ""'  ""^  ''='°""'^*^  "8^*^°"^  •>«- 

of  Ihe'ntly  Ghr'-"  "^"'^^^  ^''^  ^-°-  °P-tion 

th,t!.,^T, ''"'"  '*?'''  '*  '^  *h"  '^«'=t"°«  of  Scripture 
dia   the  blessings  of  redemption  are  applied  to  the  soul 
by  the  personal  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Thus  the 
apostle,  speaking  of  the  whole  church,  says  :  "By  one 
Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body,"  e".  .  theldy 
of  Christ  (1   Cor.  xii.  13);  again /«  Through  him 
(Chnst)  we  both  (Jews  and  Gentiles)  have  access  by 
one  Spirit  unto  the  Father  "  (Eph.  ii.  18).     The  r^. 
generation,  by  which  the  sinner  becomes  a  child  of 
God,  IS  the  work  of  the  Spirit :  "  Except  a  man  be 


'Mi 


BAPTISM  : 


[Lkct.  XXXIL 


|>orn  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God  "  (John  iii.  5-T).     The  washing 
away  of  sins  with  the  blood  of  the  cross  is  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.    "  Ye  are  washed,  ye  are  sanctified,  ye 
are  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  by  the 
Spirit  of  our  God"  (1  Cor.  vi.  11).     The  blood  of 
Christ  is   the  instrument  of  the  washing  ;  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  the  agent,  or  the  washer.     The  Holy  Spirit 
seals,  or  marks  as  set  apart  or  sanctified,  to  God,  those 
who  believe.    "In  whom  (Christ),  after  that  ye  be- 
lieved,  ye  were  sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise, 
(or  promised  Spirit,)  which  is  the  earnest  of  our  inher- 
itance "  (Eph.  i.  13,  14).     Besides  the  washmg  of 
remission,  by  which   the   guilt  of  Christ's  people  is 
taken  away,  there    is   also  a   washing   away  by   the 
Spirit  of  the  pollution  which  sin  leaves  upon  the  soul, 
ordinarily  and  technically  called  sanctification.      The 
consequence  of  this  latter  cleansing,  joined  to  the  re- 
generating, enlightening,  and  strengthening  influences 
of  the  Spirit,  is  the  production  and  gradual  but  sure 
growth  of  all  those  graces  or  virtues  of  religion  which 
constitute  the  Christian  character,  until  it  is  complete 
in  crloiT  ;  which  graces  are,  therefore,  called  "  the  fruit 
of  "the  Spirit"  (Gal.  v.  22,  23).     All  these  several 
operations  of  the  Spirit  are  signified  in  baptism.    "  I 
indeed  baptize  you  with  water  ;  but  one  mightier  than 
I  cometh,  the  latchet  of  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy 
to  unloose  ;  he  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  with  fire ; "  fire  expressing  the  intense  energy  of 
the  Spirit  to  purify  (Luke  iii.  16).     The  baptism  of 
John  was  (imperfectly)  Christian  baptism,  because  it 
referred  to  Christ ;  but  it  was  not  Christian  baptism 
complete  m  m  M,  for  it  did  not  refer  to  the  Holy 


• 


r^CT.  XXXIL]       ITS  AUTHORITY  AND  DESIGN. 


215 


Ghost.     Hence  the  apostles  and  those  with  them  in 
the   chamber   of  the  Pentecost,   who,  doubtless,  had 
received  the  preliminary  baptism  of  John,  were  not 
baptized  again  with  water,  because  they  had  the  bap- 
tism of  the  Holy  Spirit  itself;  but,  as  we  read  in  Acts 
xix.  1-5,  those,  who  had  received  John's  baptism  and 
not  the  Holy  Ghost,  were  baptized  again.      So  the 
apostle  Peter  said  to  the  mixed  multitude :  "  Repent 
and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive 
the  Holy  Ghost,  for  the  promise  is  unto  you  and  to 
your  children,  and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as  many 
as  the  Lord  our  God   shall  call  "  (Acts  ii.  38,  39). 
The  promise,  in  order  to  receive  which  they  were  to 
be  baptized,  was  that  of  the  Holy  Ghost  (compare  33d 
with  16-18) :   "  It  shall  come  to  pass  in  those  days 
that  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh  "  (Joel  ii. 
28).     A  similar  promise  of  the  Spirit,  as  represented 
in  baptism,  was  given  by  Isaiah  (xliv.  3)  :    "  I  will 
pour  water  upon  him  that  is  thirsty,  and  floods  upon 
the  dry  ground  ;  I  will  pour  my  Spirit  upon  thy  seed, 
and  my  blessing  upon  their  offspring ;  "  and  also  by 
Ezekiel  (xxxvi.  25-27)  :  "  Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean 
water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean  ;  from  all  your 
filthiness  and  from  all  your  idols  will  I  cleanse  you.    A 
new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I 
put  within  you  ;  and  I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart 
out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  an  heart  of  flesh  ; 
and  I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you  to 
walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my  command- 
ments and  do  them."     Thus,  in  the  application  of  the 
water  is  the  pouring  out  or  sprinkling  seen.     Hence 
the  church  in  her  baptismal  form  says :  "  When  we  are 


216 


BAPTISM  : 


[Lect.  xxxn. 


baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Holy 
Ghost  assures  us  by  this  holy  sacrament,  that  he  will 
dwell  in  us,  and  sanctify  us  to  be  members  of  Chnst, 
applying  unto  us  that  which  we  have  in  Christ,  namely, 
the  washing  away  of  our  sins  and  the  daily  renewing 
of  our  lives,  till  we  shall  finally  be  presented  without 
spot  or  wrinkle  among  the  assembly  of  the  elect  in  life 

2,  Christian  baptism  is  a  seal,  as  it  is  an  assurance 
of  certain  benefits.     A  seal  is  added  and  attached  to 
a  written  deed,  as  an  attestation  of  the  covenant.     A 
sacrament  does  not  reveal  the  benefits  of  grace  ;  that  is 
done  by  the  word ;  but  it  confirms  the  testmiony  ot 
the  word.     A  sacrament  is  not  itself  a  covenant ;  that 
is  already  made ;  but  it  is  a  seal  or  assurance  of  the 
covenant  (twenty-fifth  Lord's  Day)  ;  thus  the  apostle 
speaking  of  Abraham,  says  :  "  He  received  the  sign  of 
circumcision,  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the  faith 
which  he  had,  yet  being  uncircumcised ''  (Rom.  iv.  11). 
The  covenant  was  made  with  him  while  yet  uncircum- 
cised ;  then  circumcision  was  added  as  a  seal  or  visible 
assurance.     But  a  seal  without  a  covenant  has  neither 
value  or  meaning;  so,  except  there  be  first  a  covenant 
with  God,  baptism,  though  externally  applied,  assures 
nothing.     It  is  a  seal  only  of  the  righteousness  of  faith. 
But  when  there  is  faith  to  apprehend  the  covenant, 
then  baptism  is  a  sure  seal  and  pledge  of  the  benefits 
covenanted.     Hence  the  Christian  disciple  in  our  Cate- 
chism, beheving  the  promise  of  the  gospel  covenant, 
hesitates  not  to  say :  "  I  am  as  certainly  washed  by  the 
blood  and  Spirit  of  Christ  from  all  pollution  of  my 
soul,  that  is  from  all  my  sins,  as  I  am  washed  exter- 
nally  with  water."     So,  also,  in  the  baptismal  form. 


lect.xxxil]    its  authority  and  design. 


217 


the  church,  taking  for  granted  faith  in  the  covenant^ 
says  :  *'  Baptism  is  a  seal  and  undoubted  (rather  indu- 
bitable) testimony  that  we  have  an  eternal  covenant  of 
grace  with  God ;  "  and  in  the  thanksgiving,  after  the 
baptism  of  the  infants  of  believers,  bids  us  say :  "  Al- 
mighty God  and  merciful  Father,  we  thank  and  praise 
thee  that  thou  hast  forgiven  us  and  our  children  all 
our  sins  through  the  blood  of  thy  beloved  Son,  Jesus 
Christ,  and  received  us  through  thy  Holy  Spirit  as 
members  of  thy  only-begotten  Son,  and  adopted  us  to 
be  thy  children,  and  sealed  and  confirmed  the  same 
unto  us  by  holy  baptism."  All  these  enumerated  bless- 
ings are  promised  unto  faith  :  if  we  have  faith,  baptism 
seals  them  unto  us  ;  if  we  have  not  faith,  we  have  no 
right  to  the  baptism,  which  supposes  a  previous  cove- 
nant ;  for,  in  such  case,  baptism  is  unmeaning  and  val- 
ueless, as  a  seal  without  an  instrument  or  deed. 

What  baptism  seals  has  been  shown  in  what  it  signi- 
fies ;  for  the  seal  and  the  sign  are  for  the  same  things. 

a.  When  we  are  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
it  seals  to  us  our  adoption  by  God  as  his  children. 

h.  When  we  are  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Son,  it 
seals  to  us  the  remission  of  our  sins  through  his  blood. 

c.  When  we  are  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  it  seals  to  us  all  the  gracious  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

3.  Christian  baptism  is  a  profession,  or  formal,  open 
declaration  of  the  truths  thus  signified  and  sealed. 

As  the  church  is  visible,  so  the  profession  must  be 
visible.     Thus, 

a.  The  recipient  of  baptism  openly  professes,  not 
only  his  faith  in  the  covenant  of  God  to  him,  but  his 
covenant  to  God,  that  he  will  be  (1.)  a  child  of  God  in 


218 


BAPTISM: 


[Lect.  XXXIL 


all  holy  obedience;  (2.)  a  follower  of  Christ  s  doctnne 
and  example;   and   (3.)  a  zealous  cultivator  of  the 
Spirit's  grace,  without  which  he  is  nothing,  and  can  do 
nothincr.     In  brief,  he   avows  himself  to  the  church, 
and  before  the   world,  to  be   a   Christian       As   the 
church,  in  her  sacramental  form,  says:.  "Whereas,  m 
all  covenants,  there  are  contained  two  parts,  therefore 
are  we  by  God,  through  baptism,  admonished  of  and 
obliged  (_{.  e.  put  under  obligations)  unto  new  obedi- 
ence :  namely,  that  we  cleave  to  this  one  God,  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost ;  that  we  trust  in  him,  and  love 
him  with  all  our  hearts,  with  all  our  souls,  with  all  our 
mind,  and  with  all  our  strength  ;  that  we  forsake  the 
world,  crucifv  our  old  nature,  and  walk  in  a  new  and 
holy  life  "     This  is  our  profession  in  receiving  baptism. 
b    The  church,  on  the  other  hand,  as  in  the  place 
of  God,  professes  unto  the  person  baptized  before  the 
world,  that  he  is  received  among  the  chddren  of  God, 
l]ie  followers  of  Christ,  and  the  saints  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  —  that  is,  into  the  visible  company  of  Christian 

Hence  baptism  has  been  universally  regarded  to  be 
«he  initiatory  rite  to  the  Christian  church,  as  circum- 
cision was  the  rite  initiatory  to  the  former  covenant. 

II.  What  Christian  baptism  is  not. 

This  second  point  of  our  proposed  inquiry  may  be 
thou^rht  to  have  been  sufficiently  met  in  discussmg  the 
first  r  but  the  72d  and  T3d  Questions,  with  their  An- 
swers, show  that  our  instructor  means  to  rebuke  the 
error  of  those  who  consider  the  outward  sacrament  ot 
baptism  a  real  washing  away  of  sins  and  a  regeneration 
by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  or  (what  is  nearly  the  same  thing) 
that  the  graces  of  remission  and  regeneration  certainly 


Lect.  XXXII.]       ITS  AUTHOBITI   AND  DESIGN. 


219 


J 


accompany  the  outward  sign.  That  no  one  may  so 
abuse  their  souls,  or  pervert  the  language  of  our 
church,  let  us  consider : 

1.  That  "  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  His  Son  cleans- 
eth  us  from  all  sin,"  and  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
alone  renews  the  soul.  The  cleansing  and  the  renewal 
are  both  spiritual  and  internal ;  nor  can  they  possibly 
be  effected  in  the  soul  by  an  outward  application  of 
water  to  the  body. 

2.  That  the  sacrament,  being  only  a  sign  and  a  seal, 
does  not  confer  the  blessings,  either  by  itself  or  by  ac- 
companying grace,  but  supposes  the  blessings  to  have 
been  already  conferred  by  a  covenant  already  entered 
into. 

3.  That  the  texts  of  Scripture  usually  quoted  to 
sustain  these  heterodox  opinions,  are  misinterpreted. 
Thus : 

a.  The  text  is  cited  from  the  epistle  to  Titus  :  "Not 
by  works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done,  but  ac- 
cording to  his  mercy  he  saved  us,  by  the  washing 
of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost" 
(iii.  5).  Our  instructor  rightly  supposes  that  baptism, 
here  meant,  is  referred  to  only  as  figuratively  signify- 
ing, and,  to  the  believer,  sealing  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  but  that  the  form  does  not  confer  the  grace,  is 
strongly  asserted  by  the  apostle  when  he  says  that  we 
are  saved  only  according  to  the  "  mercy  "  of  God,  and 
"  not  by  works  of  righteousness  "  (by  which  the  usage 
of  Paul  was  to  designate  ceremonial  compliances) 
which  we  have  done  or  can  do. 

b.  The  second  text  cited  is  in  the  address  of  Ananias 
to  Saul  (Acts  xxii.  16) :  "  Arise  and  be  baptized  and 
wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord." 


II 


2M 


BAPTISM: 


[Lect.  xxxn. 


By  this  is  meant  that  he  should,  in  receiving  baptism, 
give  open  token  that  he  beUeved  his  sins  to  be  washed 
away,  and  so  be  confirmed  in  his  faith  by  the  sign  and 
the  seal.  If  the  expression  be  taken  as  absolutely  lit- 
eral, he  was  commanded  to  wash  away  his  own  sins  by 
the  sacramental  waters,  —  a  stretch  of  interpretation  few 
are  willing  to  take,  as  our  sins  are  washed  away  only 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  with  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  as 
no  one  washes  himself  in  baptism,  but  the  recipient  is 

washed. 

c.  Our  Lord's  words  to  Nicodemus  are  sometimes 
quoted  in  this  connection  :  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of 
water  and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of 
God."     There  are  good  doubts  whether  baptism  (out- 
ward) is  here  referred  to  at  all ;  but  assuming  that  it 
is,  there  are  two  births  spoken  of:  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit ;  and  it  by  no  means  follows  that  he  who  is  born 
of  water  is  necessarily  born  of  the  spirit,  or  that  he 
who  is  born  of  the  spirit  is  necessarily  bom  of  water. 
He  must  be  born  of  each  and  of  both.     It  is  nowhere 
said,  that  he  who  is  born  of  water  has  certainly  entered 
the  kingdom  of  God ;   but  it  is  everywhere  asserted, 
that  to  be  born   of  the  Spirit  is  to  enter  the  divine 
kincrdom.     He  who  wilfully  refuses  to  enter  the  king- 
dom of  God  upon  earth  by  baptism,  may  well  fear 
being  refused  admission  to  the  kingdom  above  ;  but  he 
who^'is  truly  born  of  the  Spirit,  is  as  truly  a  child  of 
God  and  an  heir  of  eternal  life.     One  may  be  deprived 
of  baptism  by  uncontrollable  circumstances ;  but  if  he 
be  born  of  the  Spirit,  his  "  record  is  on  high." 

d.  One  more  text :  "  He  that  believeth  and  is  bap- 
tized shall  be  saved"  (Mark  xvi.  16).  This  is  not 
asserting  that  a  baptized  person  is  necessarily  a  behever ; 


lect.xxxil]    its  authority  and  design. 


221 


on  the  contrary,  it  is  added:  "he  that  believeth  not 
shall  be  damned,"  i,  e-  whether  baptized  or  not.  Faith 
certainly  saves  ;  baptism  does  not,  except  it  be  received 
in  faith. 

Let  the  apostle  Peter  sum  up  the  matter :  "  Baptism 
now  doth  save  us  [not  the  putting  away  of  the  filth 
of  the  flesh  (or  the  external  cleansing')^  but  the  answer 
of  a  good  conscience  toward  God]  by  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ  "  (1  Peter  iii.  21).  Reliance  upon  any 
external  form  is  going  back  to  the  unspiritual,  self- 
righteous  superstition  of  the  Jews  under  the  old  law  ; 
reliance  on  the  grace  of  the  Spirit  in  the  gospel  is 
the  saving  faith  of  the  New  Testament. 

May  God  make  us  worthy  partakers  of  his  Spirit, 
and  keep  us  faithful  to  our  baptismal  obligations ! 
Amen. 


. 


LECTURE  XXXIIL 

BAPTISM. 

No.  II. 
THE  MODE. 


TWENTY-SIXTH  AND   TWENTY- SEVENTH   LORD'S 

DAYS. 


/ 


BAPTISM. 

H.  -  THE  MODE. 

TTAVING,  in  our  former  discourse,  shown,  First  : 
■*"*■  The  authority  for  Christian  baptism;  and.  Sec- 
ondly :  Its  design;  it  now  remains  for  us  to  consider. 
Thirdly  :  The  mode  of  its  administration ;  and, 
Fourthly  :  The  subjects  to  whom  it  should  be  ad- 
ministered. 

Thirdly:  The  mode  in  which  Christian  baptism 
should  be  administered. 

We  use  the  term  mode  here  in  a  large  sense,  com- 
prising by  it  everything  connected  with  the  administra- 
tion of  the  sacrament,  not  treated  under  the  other 
heads,  as :  I.  The  administrator.  II.  The  circum- 
stances. III.  The  formula.  IV.  The  element  to  be 
used.  V.  The  manner  of  applying  it.  In  this  order, 
as  in  our  main  arrangement,  convenience  is  aimed  at 
rather  than  a  precise  succession  of  thought. 

I.  The  administrator^  or  the  person  who  should  offi- 
ciate in  conferring  baptism. 

The  sacrament,  being  a  sign  and  seal  of  divine  grace, 
should  be  received  as  from  the  hand  of  God,  repre- 
sented by  the  officiating  person.  It  is  proper,  there- 
fore, that  so  solemn  an  act  as  affixing  a  seal  in  the 
name  of  God  should  be  performed  by  no  unaccredited 
agent ;  and  as  the  ordinance  is  intended  to  confirm  the 


VOL.   II. 


15 


226 


BAPTISM:    THE  MODE.  [Lect.  XXXHI. 


word  of  God,  a  belief  of  which  is  the  qualification  for 
rightly  receiving  baptism,  we  easily  infer  that  those 
who  are  officially  authorized  to  preach  the  word  are 
the  proper  persons  to  administer  the  confirming  sacra- 
ment. So  we  find  the  command  to  baptize  joined  by 
the  Saviour  with  the  command  to  preach  the  gospel,  in 
the  great  commission.  The  same  persons  are  directed 
to  do  both.  The  holy  apostles  were,  and  their  succes- 
sors in  the  office  of  preaching  the  gospel  are,  styled  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  "  ambassadors  for  Christ,"  as  though 
God  spake  by  them  (2  Cor.  v.  20).  They,  therefore, 
have  the  delegated  prerogative  of  confirming  the  truth 
which  they  are  sent  to  proclaim.  Hence,  we  have  no 
recorded  instance  of  any  others  administering  baptism 
but  authorized  preachers  of  the  gospel. 

We  have  seen,  also,  that  baptism  is  tlie  open  sign  of 
admission  into  the  church  visible,  and,  therefore,  the 
reception  of  the  new  member  should  be  the  act  of  one 
who  by  his  office  represents  the  church,  viz :  its  bishop, 
i,  e.,  according  to  the  language  of  Scripture,  the  presid- 
ing presbyter. 

The  question  has  been  much  vexed,  both  before  and 
after  the  Reformation,  whether  baptism  administered  in 
a  case  of  necessity  by  a  layman,  though  acknowledged  to 
be  irregular,  should  not  be  regarded  as  so  far  valid  that 
a  repetition  of  the  rite  would  be  improper.  The  ex- 
treme—  very  just  reluctance  felt  by  a  large  majority  of 
Christians  to  dishonor  a  sacrament,  and  the  erroneous 
supposition  of  many  that  baptism  is  necessary  to  the  as- 
surance of  salvation  —  has  led  the  greater  part  to  decide 
that  lay-baptism  should  not  be  rejected.  Our  Reformed 
church  teaches  the  contrary,  both  in  her  confession  of 
faith  (Article  xxx.)  and  in  her  form  for  ordaining  min- 


Lkct.  XXXIII]  BAPTISM:    THE  MODE. 


227 


!    1 


isters  of  the  word,  where  the  office  of  administering  the 
sacraments  is  especially  ascribed  to  them.  Such  was 
the  opinion  of  the  famous  Ursinus,  the  author  of  our 
Catechism,  as  it  is  of  the  Westminster  confession,  and 
of  nearly  all  the  evangelical  denominations. 

The  personal  immorality  or  insincerity  of  the  offici- 
ator  does  not  afi:ect  the  validity  of  the  ordinance,  if  he 
be  regularly  officiating  at  the  time,  for  the  act  is  official, 
not  personal ;  nor  does  the  otherwise  heretical  charac- 
ter of  a  church  impair  their  baptism,  if  it  be  adminis- 
tered according  to  the  apostolical  usage,  and  with  an 
orthodox  belief  respecting  the  divine  nature  and  unity 
of  the  three  ever-blessed  persons  named  in  conferring 
the  sacred  seal. 

n.  The  circumstances, 
^  Baptism  being  the  sacrament  of  admission  into  the 
visible  church,  it  is  meet  that  it  should  be  administered 
openly  before  the  assembled  church  ;  that  the  church 
may  own  and  the  baptized  person  declare  the  covenant 
between  them  and  him.      Hence,  when  the  persons 
interested    are    not    prevented   by   sickness    or   other 
causes  (not  a  false  shame,  which  is  unbecoming  pride) 
from  attending  in  the  proper  place  of  public  worship, 
the  rite  should  be  performed  there  and  at  the  time  of 
public  worship.      But  if   it  be  perfomed  more  pri^ 
vately,  there  should  at  least  be  more  than  one  Christian 
person  present  to  constitute  a  church  ;  and  the  officiat- 
mg  minister  should,  if  possible,  have  a  ruling  elder 
with  him  for  the  same  purpose,  although,  being  him- 
self both  bishop  and  presbyter,  he  may,  in  extreme 
cases,  act  alone. 

Every  care  should  be  taken  that  the  ordinance  be 
administered  with  all  the  reverence  due  in  so  solemn  a 


228 


BAPTISM:  THE  MODE. 


[Lect.  XXXIII. 


service,  and  attempts  to  make  it  an  occasion  of  worldly 
festivity  or  show  discouraged  and  forbidden. 

III.  The  formula,  or  form  of  words,  to  be  pronounced 
in  administering  tlie  baptism,  should  be  that  prescribed 
by  our  Lord  to  the  apostles,  without  omission,  addition, 
or  alteration.  It  were  profane  presumption  to  attempt 
any  improvement  upon  Christ's  prescription.  But  this 
does  not  forbid  proper  explanations,  vows  or  prayers 
before,  or  thanksgiving  with  exhortations  afterward, 
provided  nothing  be  introduced  that  mars  the  solemnity 
of  the  ordinance  or  its  primitive  simplicity.  The  Re- 
formed churches  here  explicitly  reject  signing  the  sub- 
ject with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  because  it  has  no  apos- 
tolical authority  ;  because  the  practice  is  derived  from  a 
superstitious  communion,  wlio  attribute  an  unscriptural 
and  idolatrous  virtue  to  the  use  of  that  sign  ;  and  be- 
cause, on  the  unauthorized  pretence  of  increasing  the 
impressiveness  of  the  ceremony,  it  distracts  attention 
and  reliance  from  the  simple  baptism  with  water,  as 
appointed  by  our  Lord. 

IT.  Tlie  element  to  be  used. 

That  this  is  pure  water,  has  already  been  sufficiently 
shown  from  Scripture ;  and  so  all  the  Protestant 
churches  use  water  alone ;  but  the  Papists  most  pro- 
fanely and  indecorously  add  oil  and  spittle  and  salt, 
whicll  iie  Reformed  churches  protest  against  as  an 
unseemly  and  idolatrous  practice. 

V.  The  manner  of  applying  the  w^ater. 

On  this  subject,  you  are  aware,  there  has  been  much 
controversy,  and  therefore  we  are  required  to  be  ex- 
plicit Water  may  be  applied  to  a  person  in  three 
ways:  by  sprinkling,  by  pouring  it  upon  him,  or  by 
plunging  him  in  it.     Our  church  states  it  to  be  "  the 


Lect.  XXXIII.]  BAPTISM:  THE  MODE. 


229 


dipping  in  or  sprinkling  with  water  "  ;  yet,  while  it  is 
admitted  tliat  baptism  by  dipping  in  is  valid,  the  prac- 
tice of  the  church  is  to  baptize  by  sprinkling,  as  equally 
vaHd,  and  for  many  reasons  far  preferable.  No  candi- 
date for  the  ordinance  is  forbidden  to  be  baptized  by  im- 
mersion, or  being  dipped ;  but  our  ministers  generally, 
if  not  universally,  would  decline  administering  the  or- 
dinance in  that  manner,  lest  they  should  encourage  an 
undue  scrupulousness  on  a  point  which  they  consider 
unimportant  and  contrary  to  our  well-considered,  estab- 
lished usage.  Nothing  need  be  said  of  pouring,  or  effu- 
sion, as  the  principle  is  contained  in  the  application  by 
sprinkling.  Yet,  while  thus  charitable  in  allowing 
those  who  prefer  iunnersion,  or  dipping,  to  follow  their 
own  method,  we  are  not  met  with  equal  consideration, 
as  a  large  and  highly  respectable  body  of  Christians 
deny  the  validity  of  any  baptism  but  immersion. 

We  justify  the  practice  of  our  church  by  several 
arguments:  1.  The  meaning  of  the  original  words 
which  are  rendered  "  baptize,"  or  "  baptism,"  by  the 
translators  of  our  Bible.  2.  The  sufficiency  of  sprink- 
ling to  signify  the  thing  intended.  3.  The  greater  con- 
venience, and,  therefore,  expediency  of  sprinkling. 

1.  The  meaning  of  the  original  w^ords  which  are  ren- 
dered "  bai^tize"  and  "baptism." 

If  these  words  necessarily,  and  only,  mean  immer- 
sion,  the  question  should  be  yielded  by  us  at  once. 
But  such  is  not  their  necessary  and  only  meaning.  The 
primitive,  or  radical  sense,  we  admit,  is  immersion; 
but,  like  many  other  words  in  all  languages,  they  came, 
by  a  common  use  of  speech,  to  have  other  significations 
as  well  as  that  which  was  the  radical,  and  among  them 
washing,  or  the  use  of  water  for  the  purpose  of  cleans- 


MQ 


BAPTISM:  THE  MODE. 


[Lect.  XXXIII. 


'^} 


I       I 


g- 


Thus  the  evangelist  Mark  (vii.  1-4)  tells  us  that 
file  Pharisees  were  scandalized  at  our  Lord's  disciples 
because  they  did  not,  according  to  the  tradition  of  the 
elders,  wash   their  hands  before  eating,  {,  e,  cleanse 
them  with  water.      If,  however,  it  be  argued  that  the 
verb  here  means  immersion,  because  they  would  natu- 
rally plunge  their  hands  into  water,  how  shall  we  apply 
the  term  throughout  the  fourth  verse  ?    "  And  many 
other  things  there  be,  which  they  have  received  to  hold, 
as  the  washing  of  cups  and  pots,  brazen  vessels,  and  of 
ttWei,"     Cups  may  be  dipped  ;  so  may  pots  and  brazen 
vessels,  if  of  a  small  size  ;  but  tables,  or,  more  correctly, 
the  couches  on  which  the  guests  reclined  around  the 
table,  were  altogether  too  large  to  be  dipped  or  plunged 
into  water,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  liow 
tiiey  couM  have  been  cleansed  in  any  other  way  than 
ly  the  application   of  water  to  them.      Besides,  the 
washing   there  spoken   of  is  clearly  not  an  ordinary 
washing,  such  as  takes  place  in  every  cleanly  house- 
hold, but  a  ceremonial  custom  to  cleanse  from  ritual  de- 
filement the  articles  used  ;  and  we  have  seen  already 
that  such  ceremonial  cleansing  might  be  effected,  as  it 
was  in  most  cases,  by  mere  sprinkling. 

This  interpretation  is  fully  confirmed  by  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  (ix.  10-14),  where  the  ceremonial 
cleanness  is  said  to  have  "stood  only  in  meats  and 
drinks  and  divers  washings,  and  carnal  ordinances." 
Now,  it  is  notorious  that  the  larger  part  of  those  cere- 
monial "  washings,"  or  baptisms,  consisted  of  sprinklings, 
or  effusions  of  water  or  of  blood.  The  writer  is  evi- 
dently speaking  comprehensively  of  all  the  lustrations  ; 
lOl  the  few  in  which  immersion  was  required,  but  the 
many  in  which  sprinkling  was   sufficient  to  represent 


Lect.  XXXIII.]  BAPTISM:  THE  MODE. 


i 


231 


washing ;  for  he  goes  on  to  say :  "  But  Christ,  being 
come  a  high  priest  of  good  things  to  come  .  .  .  nei- 
ther by  the  blood  of  goats  and  calves,  but  by  his  own 
blood,  he  entered  in  once  into  the  holy  place,  having 
obtained  eternal  redemption  for  us."     Certainly,  here 
is  a  continuation  of  reference  to  those  of  the  "  divers 
washings  "  with  blood,  which  accompanied  the  entrance 
of  the  Levitical  high  priest  to  the  Holy  of  Holies,  all 
of  which  were  performed  by  sprinkling ;  and  the  argu- 
ment goes  on  :  "  For  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats, 
and  the  ashes  of  an  heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean,  sanc- 
tifieth  to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh ;  how  much  more 
shall   the   blood  of  Christ,  who,  through  the  eternal 
Spint,  offered  himself  without  spot  unto  God,  purge 
your  conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living 
God."     Now,  here  we  see  that  not  only  the  term  "  bap- 
tism "  includes  the  "  sprinkling "  under  the  law,  but 
that  baptism  and  sprinkling  are  used  interchangeably, 
particularly  when   cleansing  by  the   blood  of   Christ 
(which  is  signified  in  Christian  baptism)  is  spoken  of.* 
If  sprinklings  under  the  Old  Testament  are  called  bap- 
tisms, why  may  not  sprinkling  be  considered  baptism 
under  the  New  ?     This  is  all  we  contend  for,  and  the 
passage  cited  proves  it  fully.     We  may,  however,  add 
a  proof  or  two  more.      John  the  Baptist,  or  baptizer, 
says :    "  I,  indeed,  baptize  you  with  water,  but  one 
mightier  than  I  cometh  ...  he  shall  baptize  you  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire."     Now,  if  the  word 
baptize  be  rendered  immerse  in  the  former  part  of  the 
verse,  the  latter  clause  should  read,  "  He  shall  immerse 
you  in  the  Holy  Ghost  and  in  fire,"  which  i§  not  ac- 

*  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  other  two  instances  in  verse  19,  and 
verses  2'1,  25,  of  same  chapter. 


\ 


%dm 


BAPTISM:  THE  MODE. 


[Lect.  XXXIII. 


Olrfing  to  fact.     Christ,  as  tlie  head  of  his  church,  was 
baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  as  he  came  up  from  being 
baptized  with  water  by  John ;  but  was  it  by  immersion 
inta  the  Holy  Ghost?      On  the  contrary,  tlie   Holy 
Ghost  descended  in  a  bodily  shape  "  like  a  dove  (z.  e. 
with  a  fluttering  motion  like  a  dove  when  alighting), 
and  lighting  upon  him  "  (Matt.  iii.  16) ;  so  when  he 
himself  baptized  his  disciples  at  the  Pentecost,  we  read 
that,  "  There  came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing 
mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house  where  they  were 
sitting ;  and  there  appeared  unto  them  cloven  tongues 
like  as  of  fire,  and  it  (i.  e,  the  appearance  like  fire)  sat 
upon  each  of  them,  and  they  were  all  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as 
the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance  "  (Acts  ii.  2-4).     Here 
we  see  that,  like  their  Master,  they  were  baptized,  not 
by  being  immersed  into  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  fire, 
but  by  the  Holy  Ghost  being  poured  out  or  descending 
upon  them,  and  in  the  form  of  fire  resting  upon  them. 
This  is  in  accordance  with  prophetic  language,  as  the 
apostle  Peter  quoted  it  at  the  time  (from  Joel  ii.  28- 
32)  :  "  It  shall  come  to  pass  in  those  days,  I  will  pour 
out  of  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh."     The  prophet  Isaiah 
also  speaks  of  the  primary  baptism  of  Christ  as  an 
anointing  (Ixi.  1),  which  we  know  was  done  by  pour- 
ing oil  upon  the  head.     If  immersion  were  necessary 
to  baptism,  the  disciples  at  the  Pentecost  were  not  bap- 
tized with  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  the  fire  only  sat  upon 
them.     If  it  be  answered,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  "  filled 
all  th©  house  where  they  were  sitting,"  we  rejoin  that  it 
was  the  sound  "  as  of  a  rusliing  mighty  wind  "  that 
filled  the  place,  not  the  wind  ;  the  visible  element  of  the 
baptism  was  the  appearance  like  fire,  which  did  not  fill 


I.ECT.  XXXIII.]  BAPTISM:   THE  MODE. 


233 


the  place,  but  only  rested  in  forms  like  cloven  tongues 
of  fire.    Supernatural  fire  was,  as  you  know,  the  sign  or 
emblem  of  present  divinity ;  and  the  expression  "  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire  "  is  a  Hebraistic  duplica- 
tion or  parallelism  to  express  the  same  thing,  while  the 
purifying  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  also  brought  into 
view.      If,  however,  the  immersionists  insist  tipon    it 
that  the  Holy  Ghost,  like  a  wind  or  vapor,  filled  the 
house,  it  does  not  relieve  them  from  their  embarrass- 
ment, but  increases  it ;  for  to  imitate  exactly  (as  they 
say  we  should)  the  mode  of  this  baptism,  it  were  neces- 
sary, not  simply  to  immerse  the  subject,  but  to  pour 
water  upon  him  until  he  is  completely  covered  with  the 
element,  which  I  have  never  heard  of  their  doing. 

That  baptism  (the  word)  is  not  necessarily  synon- 
ymous with    immersion,   is   clear   from   1   Cor.   x.   1. 
"  Moreover,  brethren,"  the  apostle  there  says,  "  .  .  .' 
all  our  fathers  were  under  the  cloud,  and  "all  passed 
through  the  sea ;  and  were  all  baptized  unto  Moses  in 
the  cloud  and  in  the  sea."    As  to  the  cloud,  —  doubtless 
the  cloud  of  the  divine  presence,  —  all  we  read  in  the 
account  of  Moses  is,  that  it  removed  from  before  the 
camp  of  Israel,  and  stood  behind  it,  between  them  and 
tlie  Egyptians  (Ex.  xiv.  19,  20).     In  so  doing  we  may 
suppose  it  to  have  passed  over  the  host  of  Israel.     In 
Numbers  (x.  34),  we  are  told  that  it  "  was  upon  them 
by  day,"  and  (xiv.  14)  that  it  stood    "over  them." 
Some  think  that  the  cloud  sent  forth  rain  ;  but  the  con- 
jecture is  far-fetched,  for  it  was  not  a  cloud  of  moist- 
ure, being  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night ;  nor  do  the  texts, 
quoted  to  sustain  the  idea,  bear  upon  the  subject.     It 
was,  no  doubt,  like  a  thick  smoke,  hanging  over  them, 
or  before  or  behind  them  like  a  cloud.     But  will  any 


i 

m 


234 


BAPTISM:    THE  MODE.  [Lect.  XXXIII. 


Leer.  XXXIII.]  BAPTISM:    THE  MODE. 


235 


P 


one  pretend  that  the  Israelites  were  lifted  up  and 
plunged  into  it,  which  the  immersionists  say  is  neces- 
sary to  baptism  ?  On  the  contrary,  even  if  it  envel- 
oped them,  must  it  not  have  descended  upon  them, 
which  we,  in  our  baptism,  make  the  water  do  ?  As 
♦*to  the  sea,"  we  are  expressly  told  that  they  went 
through  it  dry-shod,  wet,  at  the  utmost,  merely  by  a 
sprinkling  of  spray  from  the  rolled-back  floods.  If 
l)eing  wholly  under  water  is  necessary  to  baptism,  the 
Egyptians  only  were  baptized  ;  the  Israelites  were  not. 
Surely,  no  immersionist  would  consider  it  baptism  to 
pass  through  a  dry  reservoir,  or  the  dry  bed  of  a  stream 
which  once  had  been  full  of  water. 

Much  stress  has  been  laid  by  immersionists  on  that 
passage  of  the  apostle  Peter,  where  he  says,  referring 
to  the  ark  of  Noah,  "  wherein  few,  that  is,  eight  souls, 
were  saved  by  water :  The  like  figure  whereunto,  even 
baptism,  doth  also  now  save  us  ;  (not  the  putting  away 
of  the  filth  of  the  flesh,  but  the  answer  of  a  good  con- 
science toward  God,)  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ "  (1  Pet.  iii.  20, 21).  The  inference  is,  however, 
wholly  on  our  side.  How  did  the  water  save  Noah 
and  his  family  ?  By  literally  covering  them  all  over  ? 
Certainly  not ;  but  by  bearing  up  the  ark  in  which 
they  were,  so  that  the  waters  did  not  touch  them,  ex- 
cept perchance  in  the  descending  rain  or  the  dashing 
spray.  The  sinners  of  the  old  world  were  so  immersed 
m  covered  with  water,  and  were  drowned  in  conse- 
quence. The  truth  is,  the  apostle  does  not  speak  of 
tit  l!!o*i  #  li^  Jwit  only  of  the  grace  signified  by 
baptism. 

This  last  remark  is  equally  applicable  to  those  pas- 
sages which  speak  of  Christians   as  having   "put  on 


Christ  "  by  baptisni  (Gal.  iii.  27)  ;  being  "  buried  with 
him  by  baptism  into  death  "  (Rom.  vi.  4),  and  rising 
with  him  again  (Col.  ii.  12).  There  is  more  poetry 
(and  not  good  poetry  either)  than  logic  in  running 
a  fanciful  parallel  between  going  under  the  water,  to 
come  out  of  it  in  a  moment,  and  the  burial  of  Christ 
in  a  rock,  until  his  resurrection  on  the  third  dav.  Dra- 
matically,  death  on  a  cross  is  but  remotely  represented 
by  death  under  water.  The  scriptural  doctrine  is,  that 
the  believer  by  faith  is  united  to  Christ  as  his  represen- 
tative, and,  therefore,  is  "  crucified  with  Christ,"  "  risen 
with  Christ,"  "  glorified  with  Christ."  The  reception 
of  baptism  declares  his  faith,  and  seals  him  with  the 
outward  sign  of  Christ's  people,  no  matter  in  what 
manner  the  sacramental  emblem  be  applied. 

For  the  same  reason  we  regard  as  of  little  impor- 
tance the  precise  mode  in  which  baptism  was  adminis- 
tered by  John  or  the  early  ministers  of  Christ,  whether 
by  immersion  or  sprinkling.  A  mode  may  have  been 
convenient  for  them,  which  is  very  awkward,  and 
sometimes  dangerous,  for  us.  It  is  enough  that  we 
use  water  sufficientlv  as  a  sio:n.  Yet  we  are  far  from 
admitting  that  baptism  was  then,  at  least,  always 
administered  by  immersion.  It  is  notorious  that  the 
Greek  prepositions  rendered  "^wto"  and  ''^  out  of^ 
(the  water)  may  also  be  rendered  to  and  from.  Yet, 
even  were  they  confined  to  the  former  meaning,  it  does 
not  prove  that  the  subject  was  immersed  ;  as,  had  they 
been  baptized  by  sprinkling,  it  would  have  been  more 
convenient  both  for  the  administrator  and  the  subject 
to  gather  up  their  loose  garments  from  their  lower 
limbs,  and  putting  off*  their  sandals,  —  the  only  cover- 
ing they  wore  on  their  feet,  —  step  a  little  way  into  the 


I 


236 


BAPTISM:    THE  MODE.  [Lect.  XXXIH. 


I.ECT.  XXXIII.] 


BAPTISM:    THE  MODE. 


237 


water,  especially  when,  as  was  the  case  with  the  Jordan, 
the  banks  were  steep.  This  is  the  way  in  which  baptism 
is  represented  by  some  old  pictures,  and  certainly  must 
have  been  more  fleasant  in  that  warm  climate  than  is 
a  plunge  through  the  ice,  on  a  winter's  day,  in  ours. 
As  to  the  duty  of  following  our  Lord  into  the  water,  it 
is  a  mere  play  upon  words ;  for  we  do  not  follow  our 
Lord  in  John's  baptism,  but  in  his  baptism  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  he  received  after  coming  up  from  the 
water. 

Yet,  should  we  grant  that  John  baptized  only  by 
immersion,  it  does  not  follow  that  all  the  Cliristian 
baptisms  spoken  of  were  administered  in  the  same 
way. 

At  the  Pentecost  three  thousand  persons  were  bap- 
tized in  one  day,  and  that  between  the  third  and  ninth 
hours  (Acts  ii.  15  ;  iii.  1).  Can  it  be  believed  that  so 
many  were  plunged  under  water  within  six  hours,  even 
were  the  Twelve  assisted  by  the  Seventy,  of  which  we 
have  no  account  ?  We  are  told  that  John  baptized  "  in 
^non  near  to  Salim,  because  there  was  much  water 
there "  (John  iii.  23).  Much  water  was  necessary. 
Sty  IW  immersion ists,  because  he  baptized  by  plung- 
ing ;  but  hkd  he  only  sprinkled  them,  a  httle  water 
would  have  sufficed  for  never  so  great  a  multitude. 
But  was  there  mucli  water  in  Jerusalem,?  It  was  tol- 
erably well  supplied  for  ordinary  purposes  from  cisterns 
and  a  few  pools  ;  but  is  it  probable  that  the  new  sect 
would  have  been  permitted  to  defile  all  the  water  in 
the  city  by  dipping  in  it  such  a  multitude  ?  or  that 
the  multitude,  both  men  and  women,  were  prepared 
(as  our  friends  on  the  other  side  alwavs  take  care  to 
be)  with  dry  garments  and  even  water-proof  boots,  for 


the  officiating  minister,  and  convenient  places  to  change 
their  garments  after  their  plunge  ?     Baptism  by  sprink- 
ling could  have  been  administered  with  decent  solem- 
nity, but  what  indecent  confusion  must  have  resulted 
from  dipping  so  many.     Is  it  not  strange  that  we  have 
no  account  of  the  place  or  places  where  the  rite  was 
administered,  if  the  precise  mode  were  so  important  ? 
Similar  difficulties  belong  to  other  instances,  as  we 
are  not  told,  on  any  of  the  several  occasions,  where  the 
new  converts  were  or  could  have  been  plunged.      In 
the  case  of  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  we  know  that  the 
only  water  along  his  route  through  the  desert  of  Gaza 
was   the   little  stream   now  called    Wel-Hary,  which, 
though  it  may  have  been  swollen  during  the  rainy  sea- 
son, must  have  been,  at  the  time  he  crossed,  too  shal- 
low to  allow  the  immersion  of  a  man,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  minor,  but  really  awkward,  difficulty  attending  the 
saturation  of  his  clothes,  unless  he  was  dipped  naked,  a 
fashion  followed   by  none  in  these  days  (Acts  viii.). 
The  jailer  and  his  family  were  baptized  in  the  prison 
after  midnight,  and  could  hardly  have  been  immersed, 
unless  we  allow  our  Baptist  friends  to  put  a  tank  within 
the  walls  of  a  heathen  jail,  as  they  do  in  their  conven- 
ient churches,  for  the  purpose  of  baptism.     As  to  their 
having  gone  to  the  river  Strymon  to  baptize  them,  the 
distance  from  the  city  renders  the  supposition  absurd 
(Acts  xvi.  33).     Is  it  not  strange,  we  ask  again,  that 
the  immersionist  has  not  been  supplied  by  the  Scripture 
on  a  point  he  deems  so  momentous  ? 

What  means  Peter's  question,  when  about  to  baptize 
the  household  and  friends  of  Cornelius :  "  Can  any 
man  forbid  water  that  these  should  not  be  baptized  ?  " 
(Acts  X.  47.)     Is  he  not  asking  that  water  should  be 


rmm 


288 


BAPTISM:  THE  MODE. 


[Lect.  xxxm. 


Bmiiti^lit  in  Ibr  tlfe  purpose  ?  Would  not  an  immersion- 
ist  have  said  :  "  Can  any  man  forbid  that  we  should  go 
to  the  water  and  baptize  them  ?  " 

But  enough  of  this.  The  thing  is  too  puerile  for  the 
•glSrl'liy  of  a  Christian  pulpit ;  and  the  discussion  can 
be  tolerated  only  because  some  good  people  have  been 
strangely  led  into  troubles  of  conscience  on  the  subject. 

2.  The  sufficiency  of  sprinkling  to  signify  the  thing 
intended. 

For  this  we  have  the  highest  authority  in  Scripture. 
Baptism  will,  I  trust,  be  acknowledged  a  symbolical 
washing  or  cleansing.  Such  symbolical  cleansing  was 
alivays^  under  the  Old  Testament,  ordered  to  be  per- 
formetl  by  sprinkling.  I  do  not  quote,  because  the  cita- 
tions would  be  innumerable.  There  is  not  a  single 
instance  rf  im j  person  being  i*equired  to  be»immersed 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  older  Scriptures,  except 
Naaman,  who  was  neither  a  Jew  nor  a  proselyte.  The 
priests,  before  entering  upon  the  special  solemnities  of 
the  temple,  were  ordered  to  wash  themselves  thoroughly; 
but  that  was  for  personal  cleanliness  rather  than  a  sym- 
bolical purification,  else  they  would  have  been  baptized 
often  in  a  year.  All  the  ceremonial  cleansings  were 
performed  in  our  way.  Great  stress  is  laid  by  some 
upon  the  Jewish  mode  of  baptizing  proselytes,  whicli 
was  by  immersion  ;  but  we  deny  that  they  had  any  di- 
vine authority  for  it.  The  Rabbins  cite  for  the  purpose 
Jacob's  direction  to  his  proselyted  household :  "  Put 
away  the  strange  gods  that  are  among  you,  and  be 
clean,  and  change  your  garments "  (Gen.  xxxv.  2)  ; 
and  that  of  Moses  to  the  Israelites,  that  they  should 
"  wash  their  clothes "  (Ex.  xix.  10)  ;  but  neither  of 
these  orders  the  immersion  of  their  bodies.     A  third 


Lect.  XXXIIL] 


BAPTISM:  THE  MODE. 


239 


text  they  quote  is  one  where  the  people  were  spnnkled 
(Ex.  xxiv.  8),  and  that  with  blood.  Shall  we  allow  a 
tradition  of  pharisaical  elders  to  bind  the  free  church 
of  God  ? 

The  Psalmist  says :  "  Purge  me  with  hyssop,  and  I 
shall  be  clean ;  wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than 
snow  "  (li.  7).  Here,  according  to  Hebrew  parallel- 
ism, the  idea  of  the  first  clause  is  repeated  in  the  sec- 
ond ;  and  he  asserts  that  if  purged  with  hyssop  he 
would  be  thoroughly  cleansed.  But  how  was  purifica- 
tion by  hyssop  performed  ?  It  was  used  in  applying 
the  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb  to  the  lintels  of  the  door- 
post. "  Ye  shall  take  a  bunch  of  hyssop,  and  dip  it  in 
the  blood  that  is  in  the  basin,  and  strike  the  lintel  and 
the  two  side-posts  with  the  blood  .  .  .  "  (Ex.  xii.  22)  ; 
in  the  purification  of  a  restored  leper  (Lev.  xiv.  6,  7), 
and  of  a  house  that  had  had  the  plague  (51)  ;  in  the 
preparing  of  the  water  of  separation  (Num.  xix.  6-21)  ; 
and  in  each  of  these  cases,  that  is  to  say,  whenever  hys- 
sop was  used,  sprinkling  was  the  method  of  application  ; 
so  that  a  thorouojh  cleansinoj  was  svmbolized  to  the 
Psalmist's  mind  by  sprinkling.  In  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  (ix.  18-22)  we  read  that  Moses  "  took  the 
blood  of  calves,  and  of  goats,  with  water,  and  scarlet 
wool,  and  hyssop,  and  sprinkled  both  the  book  and  all 
the  people,  saying.  This  is  the  blood  of  the  testament 
(or  covenant)  which  God  hath  enjoined  unto  you." 
If  sprinkling  were  sufficient  to  signify  the  application 
of  the  blood  of  the  Old  Testament,  is  it  not  enough  to 
signify  that  of  the  New  ?  And,  again,  referring  to  the 
ceremonies  of  the  high  priest  on  the  day  of  interces- 
sion, the  writer  of  the  same  epistle  says:  "Let  us 
draw  near  with  a  true  heart,  in  ftill  assurance  of  faith, 


i» 


2i0 


BAPTISM:  THE  MODE. 


[Lect.  XXXIIl. 


having  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience, 
and  our  bodies  washed  (not  dipped,  mark  you)  with 
pure  water  "  (x.  22).  The  washing  here  is  certainly 
baptism,  argues  the  immersionist.  Grant  that  it  be  so  ; 
then  to  baptize  means  to  wash.  But,  in  fact,  there  is  a 
parallelism  here  between  the  purification  of  the  sinner's 
conscience  and  the  sanctification  of  the  outward  person, 
by  whicb  we  should  understand,  according  to  a  New 
Testament  idiom,  the  conduct  of  our  lives  (Rom.  xii. 
1;  1  Cor.  vi.  20).  If  sprinkling  be  sufficient  to  signify 
the  thorough  purifying  of  the  conscience,  it  is  enough 
to  signify  the  washing  of  the  body.  So,  again,  we 
read  (Heb.  xii.  24)  thai  we  are  come  "  to  Jesus,  the 
mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of 
sprinkling,  which  speaketli  better  things  than  that  of 
Abel " ;  and  the  apostle  Peter  (1  Pet.  1,  2)  speaks  of 
the  saints  as  elect,  unto  "  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ." 

This  is  in  accordance  with  the  language  of  prophecy : 
**  Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  clean  (If  God  says  that  we  may  be  made  clean 
by  sprinkling,  does  it  not  savor  of  impiety  to  deny  it  ?) 
from  all  your  filthiness,  and  from  all  your  idols,  will  I 
cleanse  you  (i,  e.  by  sprinkling  clean  water  upon  them)  ; 
a  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I 
put  within  you ;  and  I  will  take  away  the  stony  lieai-t 
out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  an  heart  of  flesh  " 
(Ezek.  xxxvi.  25,  26).  Here  is  everything  signified  in 
baptism  represented  by  sprinkling.  Are  we  too  bold  in 
claiming  the  text  as  a  literal  prophecy  of  Christian  bap- 
tism administered  after  the  proper  mode  ?  The  prophet 
Isaiah  (lii.  15)  also  says  of  the  Messiah :  "  So  shall  he 
sprinkle  many  nations,"  alluding  to  the  blessings  of 


Lbct.  XXXIIL]  BAPTISM:  THE  MODE. 


241 


salvation,  as  represented  in  baptism ;  and  it  is  remark- 
able  that  the  Ethiopian  probably  read  this  text  just 
before  he  was  baptized,  as  he  asked  Philip  to  explain 
the  seventh  verse  after  it.     In  another  place,  the  same 
prophet  says  in  the  name  of  the  Lord :  "  I  will  pour 
water  upon  him  that  is  thirsty,  and  floods  upon  the  dry 
ground  "  (xliv.  3) ;  that  is,  he  will  rain  down  his  bless- 
ings as  from  a  full,  over-hanging  cloud.    Thus,  you  see, 
whenever  the  blessings  of  salvation  are  spoken  of  in 
the  Old  or  New  Testament,  whether  typically,  prophet- 
ically, or  figuratively,  they  are  said  to  be  conferred  by 
the  symbolical  act  of  sprinkling,  or,  in  a  few  places, 
pouring.    We  may  challenge  the  immersionists  to  bring 
an  instance  of  its  being  represented  by  plunging,  except, 
perchance,   the   somewhat   doubtful   reference   of   the 
pool  of  Bethesda.     The  figure  of  a  "  fountain  opened," 
employed  by  Zechariah  (xiii.  1),  does  not  necessarily 
imply  plunging,  as  one  may  wash  at  a  fountain  without 
going  in  it  all  over.     According  to  the  unanimous  lan- 
guage of  the  sacred  writers,  sprinkling  is  not  only  sig- 
nificant, but  by  far  the  most  significant  mode  of  rep- 
resenting in  baptism  the  blessings  of  salvation  ;  nor  is 
it  consistent  with  Christian  simplicity  to  force  upon  the 
church  a  form  derived  from  the  unauthorized  traditions 
of  the  Jewish  elders,  the  only  source  to  which  we  can 
trace  baptism  by  dipping.      We  are  too  charitable  to 
deny  that  baptism  by  immersion  is  valid,  inasmuch  as 
water  is  used  for  the  symbol ;  but  we  insist  upon  being 
permitted  to  follow  "  a  more  excellent  way." 

3.  The  greater  convenience,  and,  therefore,  expedi- 
ency of  sprinkling. 

The  greater  convenience  of  our  mode  is  so  obvious, 
that  I  need  not  argue  on  it.      Indeed,  our  Baptist 

VOL.  II.  1Q 


242 


BAPTISM:  THE  MODE.  [Lect.  XXXIU. 


brethren  do  not  hesitate  to  consider  immersion  a  cross, 
and  reproach  us  for  not  being  willing  to  bear  it.  But 
we  believe  that  we  are  called  unto  liberty,  and  that 
the  cross  of  the  Christian  life  lies  in  the  self-denying 
practice  of  Christian  virtues,  —  not  in  bodily  exercises, 
which  profit  nothing,  while  they  are  apt  to  puff  up 

with  pride. 

Therefore  we  practise,  as  most  expedient  and  most 
consonant  with  the  merciful  character  of  the  gospel, 
that  method  which  is  least  trying  to  the  health  and 
modesty  of  administrator  and  subject,  which  may  be 
practised  at  all  times  and  in  all  countries,  and  with  the 
most  decency  and  ease,  and  which,  above  all,  is  the 
very  method  which  a  crowd  of  Scriptures  recommend. 


LECTURE  XXXIY. 

BAPTISM. 

No.  3. 
THE    SUBJECTS 


1.., 


4 


TWENTY-SIXTH  AND  TWENTY-SEVENTH  LORD'S 

DAYS. 

BAPTISM. 

HI.  — THE   SUBJECTS. 

IT  remains  for  us  to  treat  of,  Fourthly  :  The  sub- 
jects to  whom  Christian  baptism  should  be  admm- 

istered 

From  what  has  been  said  respecting  the  authority 
and  design  of  this  sacrament,  it  is  clear  that  it  should 
be  administered  to  all  adult  believers  who  have  not 
previouslv  received  the  holy  ordinance  ;  but  our  church 
goes  farther,  and  requires  that  the  infant  offspring  of 
believers  should  also  be  baptized.  This  we  hold  m 
common  with  all  Christians  who  practised  baptism 
until  comparatively  modern  times,  and  with  the  vast 
majority  of  Christians  now. 

The  usage  of  infant  baptism  may  be  distinctly  traced 
in  Christian  writers  from  the  close  of  the  apostolic  age 
all   the  way  down.      Justin  Martyr,  who  wrote  his 
"Apology  "  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century  after 
Christ,  and  when  he  must  have  been  about  fifty  years 
old,  speaking  of  those  who  belonged  to  the  Christian 
church,  says  that  among  them  were  some  "  who  had 
been  made  disciples  of  Christ  from  their  childhood." 
The  term  which  he  employs  to  signify  their  being  dis- 
cipled,  is  precisely  that  which  we  find  in  the  original 
of  our  Lord's  command  to  his  apostles  :  "  Go  ye,  there- 
fore, and  teach  all  nations,"  i.  e.  make  disciples  of  all 
nations,  "  baptizing  them  "  (Matt,  xxviii.  19)  ;  and  as 


246 


BAPTISM:    THE  SUBJECTS.       [Lect.  XXXIV. 


i 


til©  method  prescribed  was  to  baptize  those  who  were 
discipled,  we  may  safely  understand  Justin  as  asserting 
that  the  httle  children  were  baptized.  Irenaeus,  the 
disciple  of  Polycarp,  who  was  a  disciple  of  the  apostle 
John,  writing  nearly  at  the  same  time  with  Justin 
Martyr,  says :  "  Christ  came  to  save  all  who  through 
him  are  re-born  into  God,  —  infants,  and  little  ones,  and 
children,  and  youths,  and  older  people."  The  expres- 
sion "re-born  into  God,"  without  doubt  was  meant 
by  him  to  signify  baptized,  such  being  his  habit  of 
language.  Tertullian,  about  two  hundred  years  after 
Christ,  had  some  erroneous  notions  respecting  the  pe- 
culiar enormity  of  sins  committed  after  baptism  ;  and 
advises  that  infants,  if  they  are  likely  to  die,  should  be 
baptized,  but  otherwise  that  baptism  should  be  delayed 
until  as  late  a  period  of  life  as  possible.  In  this  opin- 
iDii,  it  is  evident  from  what  he  says  himself,  that  he 
differed  from  his  fellow-Christians  generally,  who  prac- 
tised infant  baptism.  Origen,  in  the  former  part  of  the 
third  century,  tells  us,  that  the  church  "  derived  an 
order  from  the  apostles  to  baptize  infants  " ;  and  again  : 
"  According  to  the  custom  of  the  church,  baptism  is 
administered  to  infants,  who  would  not  need  the  grace 
of  baptism,  if  there  was  nothing  in  them  that  needed 
forgiveness  and  mercy."  Cyprian,  a  contemporary  of 
Origen,  states  that  at  a  council,  held  in  Carthage,  A.D. 
253,  of  sixty-six  bishops  or  pastors  of  churches,  one 
of  their  number  proposed  the  question:  Whether  or 
not  a  child  might  be  baptized  before  the  eighth  day 
after  its  birth,  which  was  the  time  prescribed  for  cir- 
cumcision ?  And  the  unanimous  answer  of  the  coun- 
cil was,  "  that  the  mercy  and  grace  of  God  is  to  be 
withheld  from  no  human  being  bom  ;  .  .  .  that  we 


Lect.  XXXIV.]       BAPTISM:    THE  SUBJECTS.  247 

ouaht  not  to  debar  any  person  from  baptism  and  the 
~  of  God,  who  is  merciful  and  good  to  us  all ;  and 
this  rule,  as  it  holds  good  for  all,  we  think  more  espe- 
cially to  be  observed  in  reference  to  infants,  even  to 
those  newly  born."     Surely,  as  Lord  Chancellor  King 
observes,  "  the  unanimous  voice  of  a  synod,  m  sucli 
circumstances,  denotes  the  common  practice  and  usage 
of  the  church."     Chrysostom,  toward  the  close  ot  the 
fourth  century,  speaking  of  circumcision,  says  :  "  Our 
circumcision,  I  mean  the  grace  of  baptism,  cures  with- 
out pain,  and  procures  for  us  a  thousand  benefits,  and 
fills  us  with  the  grace  of  the  Spirit ;  and  it  has  no  fixed 
time,  as  circumcision  had  ;  but  one  that  is  m  the  begin- 
nin<r  of  his  age,  or  one  in  the  middle  of  it,  or  one  that 
is  in  old  age,  may  receive  this  circumcision  without 
hands."     Augustine,  toward  the  beginmng  of  tlie  tatth 
century,  says :    "  The  whole  church  practises  infant 
baptism.     It  was  not  instituted  by  councils,  but  was 
always  in  use."     Writing  against  the  Pelagians,  one  of 
his  lAost  strenuous  arguments  is,  that  infants  would  not 
be  baptized  if  they  had  no  sin."     "  They  (the  Pela- 
cians)  grant  that  infants  must  be  baptized,  not  being 
able  to  resist  the  authority  of  the  whole  church,  which 
was,  doubtless,  delivered  by  our  Lord  and  his  apostles. 
In  another  place,  speaking  of  the  proper  persons  to 
offer  the  children  for  baptism,  who  he  thinks  are  the 
parents,  if  they  be  pious,  he  speaks  with  approbation  of 
those   Christians   who  presented  the  infants    of  their 
slaves,  or  foundlings,  or  orphans.     Similar  declarations 
are  frequent  in  his  works.     Pelagius,  his  great  oppo- 
nent, a  native  of  Britain,  who  had  travelled  through 
southern  Europe  to  Africa  and  Jerusalem,  exclaims  in- 
dignantly: "  Men  slander  me  by  the  charge  that  I  deny 


I 


u 


t 


I 


am  BAPTISHt   THE  SUBJECTS.       [Lect.  XXXIV. 

iiptflSiil  lo  infants.**  ♦*  I  never  heard  of  any  one,  not 
the  most  impious  heretic,  who  denied  baptism  to  in- 
fants ;  for  who  can  be  so  impious  as  to  hinder  infants 
from  being  baptized,  and  so  born  again  in  Christ,  and 
thus  make  them  miss  of  the  kingdom  of  God  ?  "  Many 
ttlier  testimonies  might  be  added  ;  but  let  it  suffice  to 
say  that  no  fact  in  the  history  of  the  first  four  Chris- 
tian centuries  is  more  firmly  established  than  the  uni- 
versal practice  of  infant  baptism,  except  by  a  few,  who 
postponed  it  like  TertuUian  for  the  reason  given,  or 
itill  fewer  (of  any  deserving  at  all  the  name  of  Chris- 
tian), who  thought  water-baptism  useless. 

From  the  time  of  Augustine  downwards,  there  is  not 
the  slightest  trace  of  an  individual,  much  less  of  a  sect, 
who  denied  infant  baptism  until  the  year  A.  D.  1120, 
when  P^ter  de  Bruis,  one  of  the  Waldenses,  preached 
against  it ;  but  his  followers,  called  after  him  Petro- 
brussians,  were  very  few,  and  disowned  by  all  the  rest 
of  that  pious  people,  who,  preserving  amidst  their  moun- 
tains the  faith  derived  through  their  ancestors  from 
apostles,  practised,  as  they  practise  now,  this  edifying 
rite  of  the  Christian  church. 

So  all  the  churches  of  the  Reformation,  though  in- 
tent more  or  less  upon  stripping  themselves  of  the  cor- 
ruptions which  had  obtained  through  popery,  unani- 
mously consented,  as  they  now  consent,  to  the  propri- 
ety and  authority  of  infant  baptism,  with  the  exception 
of  the  sect  calling  themselves  rather  arrogantly  Baptists, 
originally  known  as  Anabaptists  (from  their  re-bap- 
tizing sucli  as  had  been  baptized  when  infants,  or  had 
been  sprinkled),  which  arose  amidst  much  extravagant 
fanaticism  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  opinion  of  the  whole  Chris- 


Lect.  XXXIV.]         BAPTISM:  THE  SUBJECTS. 


249 


tian  world  from  the  apostolic  age,  both  before  and  after 
the    Reformation,  —  the   Baptists  excepted,  who  only 
within  a  few  years  have  attained  any  considerable  num- 
bers, on  the  side  of  infant  baptism.    Our  opponents  can- 
not show  us  the  slightest  evidence  that  the  practice  was 
introduced  at  any  time,  though,  had  it  been  an  innova- 
tion, it  would  have  been  noted,  and  must  have  caused 
discussion.      The  utter  absence  of  all  proof,  or  even 
surmise  to  the  contrary,  indicates  that  it  has  come  to  us 
from  the  apostles  themselves.      Besides,  as  has  been 
urged,  and  in  my  judgment  with  irresistible  force,  the 
ordinance  of  baptism  must  have  been,  according  to  the 
views  of  our  (so-called)  Baptist  friends,  entirely  lost. 
For,  if  no  one  is  a  member  of  the  visible  church  unless 
baptized  by  immersion  at  an  adult  age,  and  consequently 
no  one  not  so  baptized  can  administer  baptism,  there 
were  no  legitimately  baptized  persons  at  the  time  the 
Anabaptists  arose,  nor  had  there  been  during  many 
centuries  before. 

But  we  readily  admit  as  sound  the  Protestant  rule  of 
acknowledging  no  evidence  sufficient  to  establish  a  rule 
of  Christian  faith  or  practice  except  that  of  holy  Scrip- 
ture. What  we  have  adduced  from  uninspired  eccle- 
siastical history,  though  strongly  corroborative  of  our 
practice,  has  been  rather  introductory  to  our  argument 
than  part  of  it ;  and  now  we  follow  our  Catechist  to 

the  word  of  God. 

"  Quest.  74.     Are  infants  also  to  he  baptized  ? 

"  Ans»  Yes ;  for  since  they,  as  well  as  adults,  are  in- 
cluded in  the  covenant  and  church  of  God,  and  since 
redemption  from  sin  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  author  of  faith,  is  promised  to  them  no 
less  than  to  the  adult,  they  must,  therefore,  by  baptism, 


i 


1 

-•r 


'. 


Il 


ill 


250 


BAPTISM:  THE  SUBJECTS.       [Lect.  XXXIV 


as  a  sicrn  of  the  covenant,  be  also  admitted  into  the 
Christian  church,  and  be  distinguished  from  the  chil- 
dren of  infidels ;  as  was  dqne  in  the  old  covenant,  or 
testament,  by  circumcision,  instead  of  which  baptism  is 
instituted  in  the  new  covenant." 

So,  also,  in  the  form  for  the  administration  of  bap- 
tism, the  church  says :  — 

"  Although  our  young  children  do  not  understand 
these  things,  we  may  not,  therefore,  exclude  them  from 
baptism,  for  as  they  are  without  their  knowledge  par- 
takers of  the  condemnation  in  Adam,  so  are  they  again 
received  unto  grace  in  Christ ;  as  God  speaketh  unto 
Abraham,  the  father  of  all  the  faithful,  and,  therefore, 
unto  us  and  our  children  (Gen.  xvii.  7),  saying :  '  I 
will  establish  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee,  and 
thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their  generations,  for  an  ever- 
lasting covenant,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy 
seed  after  thee.'  This,  also,  the  apostle  Peter  testifieth 
with  these  words  (Acts  ii.  39) :  '  For  the  promise  is 
unto  you,  and  to  your  children,  and  to  all  that  are  afar 
dS^  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call.' 
Therefore,  God  formerly  commanded  them  to  be  cir- 
cumcised, which  was  a  seal  of  the  covenant,  and  of  the 
righteousness  of  faith  ;  and,  therefore,  Christ  also  em- 
braced them,  laid  his  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed 
them  (Mark  x.  6).  Since,  then,  baptism  is  come  in 
the  place  of  circumcision ;  tlierefore,  infants  are  to  be 
baptized  as  heirs  of  the  kingdom  of  God  and  of  his 
covenant." 

Here  are  the  principal  arguments  for  infant  baptism 
distinctly  stated,  and  we  shall  consider  them,  following 
the  order  of  the  Catechism. 

The  infants  of  believers  should  be  baptized  :  1.  Be- 


Lkct.  XXXI v.]       BAPTISM:  THE  SUBJECTS. 


251 


cause  they  are  included  by  the  covenant  which  God 
through  Christ  makes  with  his  people.  2.  Because 
they  are  of  right  members  of  the  church  on  earth.  3. 
Because  the  promises  of  the  gospel  extend  to  them. 
4.  Because  it  is  proper  tliat  they  should  be  openly  dis- 
tinguished, as  the  children  of  the  covenanted  church, 
from  the  children  of  unbelievers.  5.  Because  baptism, 
having  come  in  the  place  of  circumcision,  is  the  author- 
ized method  of  marking  such  distinction. 

1.  The  infants  of  believers  should  be  baptized,  be- 
cause they  are  covered  by  the  covenant  which  God 
through  Christ  makes  with  his  people. 

The   strongest,   purest,  and   most   lasting  affection 
which  God  has  planted  in  the  human  heart  is  that  of 
the  parent  for  the  child.     Passion  and  expected  reci- 
procities of  benefits  mingle  with  the  love  of  husband 
and  wife  ;  marriage  is  a  contract  between  the  espousing 
parties.     Community  of  interest  and  habits  of  close  as^ 
sociation  bind  together  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  same 
family,  the  bond  being  often  greatly  weakened  when 
they  go  forth  into  their  separate  walks  of  life.     Chil- 
dren are  trained  to  love  their  parents  by  a  consciousness 
of  dependence  and  gratitude  for  kindness  received  from 
them.     But  parental  love  is  conceived  and  born  with 
the  child.     The  father,  the  mother,  love  their  offspring 
as  part,  nay,  as  a  dearer  part,  of  themselves.      Their 
regard  is  given,  not  indeed  without  hopes  of  their  own 
happiness  from  their  child's  happiness  and  duty,  but 
without  bargain,  or  stipulation,  or  requisition  of  pledges. 
It  is  free,  liberal,  unselfish,— an  animal  instinct  digni- 
fied to  a  high  and  noble  affection  by  a  rational  sense  of 
obligation,  the  exercise  of  which  is  itself  a  delight;  so 
that  the  parents  live  for  the  chUd,  preferring  its  health, 


262 


BAPTISM:  THE  SUBJECTS.        [Lect.  XXXIV. 


Lect.  XXXIV.]        BAPTISM:  THE  SUBJECTS. 


253 


It  k. 

f. 


prosperity,  and  honor  to  their  own  ease  or  fortunes. 
Friendship  may  he  turned  into  hate  ;  the  love  of  hus- 
band and  wife  may  decay  and  cease ;  brothers  and  sis- 
ters may  be  estranged  or  quarrel ;  children  may  forget 
and  requite  with  ill  the  parents  who  nurtured  them  up 
to  adult  years  ;  but  for  a  parent  to  forget,  to  call  back 
love,  or  the  fruits  of  love,  from  a  child,  is  a  thing 
deemed  of  all  things  lii  Hiost  Uiinatural,  a  moral  insan- 
ity, showing  a  monstrous  departure  from  the  due  course 
of  the  human  heart. 

The  reason  why  God  has  given  such  great  strength 
to  this  affection  is  seen  in  the  difficulty  and  importance 
of  the  duties  which  devolve  Upon  parents.  But  for 
their  constant,  watchful,  patient,  tender  care,  the  babe 
would  perish  ;  or,  if  nursed  only  through  the  helpless- 
ness of  infancy,  would  seldom  reach  mature  age 
through  the  inexperience  of  childhood  and  the  novel 
temptations  which  throng  upon  the  youth.  Nothing 
short  of  the  strongest  love  could  secure  even  the  physi- 
cal nurture  of  their  offspring  ;  much  more  is  it  neces- 
sary for  the  mental  and  moral  training  which  they 
need.  It  is  the  wise,  fixed  arrangement  of  Providence 
that  parents  should  stand  between  God  and  their  seed, 
as  his  agents  to  provide  for  their  well-being  in  both 
these  respects.  Our  heavenly  father  has  proceeded 
upon  this  principle  in  all  his  dealings  with  our  race, 
making  parental  affection  an  argument  for  parental 
fidelity,  encouraging  it  by  promises,  and  alarming  it  by 
threats.  How  true  this  was  of  the  first  covenant  he 
made  with  man,  the  melancholy  consequences  of  our 
first  parents'  sin  but  too  plainly  declare ;  and  it  were 
strange  indeed  if  children  could  be  so  deeply  concerned 
l«ith  the  fall  of  Adam,  and  yet  no  provision  be  made 


i>Pil 


for  their  uprising  with  Christ.  Their  representation 
before  their  birth,  in  their  primal  ancestor,  establishes 
beyond  doubt  the  law  of  such  representation  in  subse- 
quent stages  of  our  human  history,  though,  for  obvious 
reasons,  not  to  the  same  extent.  No  one  doubts  that  in 
the  affairs  of  this  life,  children  suffer  or  are  advantaged 
by  their  parents'  conduct ;  and,  in  the  order  of  civil 
society,  the  parent  is  ever  recognized  as  the  representa- 
tive of  his  child  until  it  is  of  age  to  assume  its  own  re- 
sponsibility. Thus  God  declares,  that  he  is  "  a  jealous 
God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  chil- 
dren unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them  that 
hate  him  " ;  but,  also,  that  "  his  righteousness  is  unto 
children's  children,  to  such  as  keep  his  covenant  and 
remember  his  commandments  to  do  them."  Hence  we 
find  that  parental  anxiety  has  been  assuaged,  and  pa- 
rental responsibility  enforced  by  every  covenant  made 
with  man  under  the  system  of  grace.  The  first  revela- 
tion of  mercy  at  the  very  gates  of  the  lost  paradise  was 
to  the  parents  through  their  seed,  when  God  said  in 
their  hearing  to  the  serpent-tempter :  "  I  will  put  en- 
mity between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy 
seed  and  her  seed ;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou 
shalt  bruise  his  heel,"  —  a  prophecy  fulfilled  in  the  tri- 
umphant passion  of  Christ,  the  son  of  a  virgin  ;  nor 
could  the  believers  of  that  promise  offer  a  sacrifice  in 
faith  without  including  the  offspring  through  whom  the 
deliverer  was  to  come. 

So  in  the  covenant  with  Noah,  after  the  deluge,  God 
expressly  declared :  "  Behold,  I  establish  my  covenant 
with  thee  and  with  thy  seed."  To  Abraham  he  said : 
"  Behold,  my  covenant  is  with  thee  ....  Behold,  I 
establish  my  covenant  with  thee,  and  with  thy  seed  after 


254 


BAPTISM:  THE  SUBJECTS.        [Lect.  XXXIV. 


Lect.  XXXIV.]       BAPTISM:  THE  SUBJECTS. 


255 


'i 


thee."     Nay,  to  show  that  this  covenant  included  his 
seed  from  their  early  infancy,  he  appointed  the  sacra- 
ment of  circumcision  to  be  performed  when  the  chil- 
dren were  but  eight  days  old.     In  this  sense  God  con- 
tinued to  declare  himself  as  the  God  of  Israel,  declar- 
ing the  whole  nation  to  be  "  his  people "  ;  and  upon 
on'e  remarkable  occasion  Moses  required  not  only  the 
men  of  Israel  but  their  wives  and  their  little  ones  to 
stand  before  the  Lord  "  and  enter  into  covenant  with 
the  Lord  their  God,  and  into  his  oath,  which  the  Lord 
their  God  made  with  them  that  day  "  (Deut.  xxix. 
10-15).     Such  was  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  an- 
cient believers  up  to  the  time  when  the  descent  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  at  the  Pentecost  confirmed  the  church  of 
Christ.     Can  we  be  made  to  believe  that  this  gospel 
was  less  merciful  to  parental  hearts  than  the  older  dis- 
pensation, and  that  they  were  refused  the  highly  val- 
ued privilege,  enjoyed  by  believers  in  all  previous  times, 
of  dedicating  their  offspring  openly  to  the  Lord  ?    No ; 
for  the  apostle  Peter,  in  the  very  hour  when  the  spirit 
of  God  came  down,  proclaimed  that  the  promise  was 
unto  them  and  their  children,  and  to  them  that  was 
afar  oflP,  even  to  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  should 
call.     So   we   read   that  the  angel  of  the  Lord  com- 
manded Cornelius,  the  Gentile  centurion,  to  send  to 
Joppa  for  Peter,  who  should  tell  him  words  whereby 
he  and  all  his  house  should  be  saved  (Acts  xi.  13,  14) ; 
•    and  Paul,  in  his  exhortation  to  the  jailer,  said  :  "  Be- 
Heve  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved, 
and  thy  house."    The  same  apostle  also  declares,  when 
speaking  of  those  believers  who  were  married  to  hea- 
then :  "  The  unbelieving  husband  is  sanctified  by  the 
believing  wife,  and  the  unbelieving  wife   by  the  hus- 


II 


band,  else  were  your  children  unclean,  but  now  are 
they  holy  "  (1  Cor.  vii.  14).  Holy  does  not,  we  admit, 
in  this  passage  signify  personal  freedom  from  sin,  but 
fitness  to  be  dedicated  to  God ;  yet,  surely,  the  text 
has  no  meaning,  if  they  might  not  be  openly  dedi- 
cated. 

From  this  clearly  established  principle  of  the  rep- 
resentation of  children  in  the  believing  parent,  it  fol- 
lows, — 

2.  That  they  (the  children  of  believers)  are  of  right 
members  of  the  church  on  earth. 

Such,  we  have  seen,  was  the  fact  and  the  practice  of 
the  church  under  the  Abrahamic  dispensation.  Every 
Israelite  was  by  birth  entitled  to  membership  of  the 
church,  the  sign  of  which  was  circumcision  of  the 
male  infants.  That  the  Christian  church  is  a  contin- 
uation of  the  Abrahamic,  the  apostle  puts  beyond  all 
reasonable  doubt  when  he  asserts  that  "  they  which  be 
of  faith  are  blessed  with  faithful  Abraham  "  (G^l.  iii. 
9),  to  whom  God  preached  the  gospel  when  he  said: 
"  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blessed  "  (8,  v.) ;  and 
again :  "  If  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed, 
and  children  according  to  the  promise  "  (29,  v.).  It 
is  vain  to  say  that  the  covenant  of  God  with  Abraham, 
into  which  the  newly  born  Israelite  was  brought  by 
circumcision,  had  reference  only  to  temporal  blessings  ; 
for  the  apostle  often  asserts  that  circumcision  was  a  seal 
of  the  righteousness  of  faith,  though  certain  temporal, 
blessings  were  also  secured  by  it  to  his  natural  pos- 
terity. If,  then,  infants  were  admitted  as  members  of 
the  church  under  the  old  dispensation,  how  can  it  be 
denied  that  they  are  not  to  be  admitted  under  the  new? 
If  it  were  right  in  the  one,  it  must  be  right  in  the  other 


256 


BAPTISM:  THE  SUBJECTS.        [Lect.  XXXIV. 


't 

HI 


case,  because  the  fundamental  constitution  of  both  is 
the  same  :  justification   by  faith.     Where  we  ask,  is 
there  any  proof  in  all  the  New  Testament  writings 
thai  the  right  of  believers  to  church  -  membership  is 
taken  away?     Where  is  there  a  single  text  to  show 
that  the  Christian  believer  may  not  dedicate  his  child 
as  the  Jewish  believer  was  privileged  to  do  ?     On  the 
contrary,  we  find  four  instances  of  entire  households 
teing  baptized  :  that  of  Cornelius,  that  of  Lydia,  that 
of  the  jailer,  and  that  of  Stephanas.     If  it  be  objected 
to  this,  that  we  do  not  know  whether  there  were  any 
but  adults  capable  of  personal  faith  in  these  households, 
W©  answer  that  one  could  scarcely  take  four  families 
at  random  without  finding  some  infants  among  them  ; 
and,  besides,  the  promise  in  the  case  of  the  jailer  was 
to  him  as  the  head  of  his  house  :  "  Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved  and  thy  house." 
Not,  "  If  thy  house   also  believe,  they  shall  also  be 
saved  " ;  but,  "  Believe  thou,  and  thy  house  shall  be 
saved  with   thee."     The  same  thing  is  intimated  to 
Cornelius  by  the  angel :  "  He  (Peter)  shall  tell  thee 
words,  whereby  thou  and  all  thy  house  shall  be  saved." 
So  Peter  at  the  Pentecost :  "  Repent  and  be  baptized 
every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the 
remission  of  your  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  for  the  promise  is  unto  you  and  to  your  chil- 
dren, and  to  all  that  are  afar  off  (i.  e,  the  Gentiles), 
even  to  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call." 
There  the  promise  and  baptism  go  together ;  and  if 
the  children  were  included  by  the  promise,  they  had 
also  the  privilege  of  receiving  the  baptism  which  was 
the  sign  of  the  promise. 

We  are  aware  of  the  cavil  against  this  view,  that 


Lect.  XXXIV.]       BAPTISM:  THE  SUBJECTS. 


257 


the  reception  of  baptism  is  a  profession  of  faith,  and, 
therefore,  as  infants  are  not  capable  of  faith,  they  are 
not  capable  of  receiving  baptism.  Circumcision  was  a 
sign  of  faith,  as  much  as  baptism  is ;  the  infant  Israel- 
ite received  it  on  the  faith  of  his  parent ;  so  may  the 
child  of  tlie  Christian  believer  receive  it  on  the  faith 
of  his  parent.  Besides,  it  savors  of  strong  impiety  to 
say  that  infants  may  not  be  members  of  Christ's  church, 
when  he  himself  took  special  pains  to  declare  that  "  of 
such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Nay,  when  he 
rebuked  his  disciples  for  keeping  back  the  mothers  who 
pressed  forward  to  lay  their  little  ones  in  the  Saviour's 
arms :  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  for- 
bid them  not."  How  can  children  be  brought  openly 
to  Christ  as  members  of  his  kingdom,  but  by  Christian 
baptism,  in  the  initiatory  rite  ordained  by  himself? 
How  can  we  lay  them  in  his  arms,  but  by  committing 
them  to  the  embrace  of  his  church  ? 

3.  The  promises  of  the  gospel  extend  to  the  infants 
of  believers. 

This  we  have  already  seen  ;  but  under  the  Old  Tes- 
tament the  parents  were  required  to  claim  the  promise 
for  their  offspring  according  to  the  external  rites  of  the 
law  ;  so  are  believers  under  the  New  Testament  to  tes- 
tify their  belief  in  the  promise  of  God  respecting  their 
children  by  the  rite  of  the  gospel.  It  is  not  enough 
for  a  man  that  he  believes;  he  must  be  baptized  in 
token  of  his  belief ;  so  it  is  not  enough  that  the  parent 
believes  in  the  promise  to  his  child ;  he  must  present  his 
child  for  baptism  in  token  of  his  belief;  nor  can  he 
claim  the  blessing  of  the  covenant  except  he  avails  him- 
self of  its  seal.  Thus,  it  is  a  sin  on  his  own  part,  and 
injustice  toward  his  unconscious  child,  not  to  ask  the 

VOL.  II.  If 


1 

I 


258 


BAPTISM:    THE  SUBJECTS.       [Lect.  XXXIV. 


Lect.  XXXIV.]  BAPTISM:   THE  SUBJECTS. 


259 


blessing  for  it  according  to  the  manner  which  God  has 
ordained. 

This  is  the  more  important, 

4.  Because  it  is  proper  that  the  children  of  believers 
should  be  distinguished  openly  from  the  children  of 

unbelievers. 

The  church  is  the  visible  representative  of  the  king- 
dom of  God  upon  earth.     As  the  children  of  a  citizen 
inherit,  of  course,  the  citizenship,  so  does  the  child  of 
a  church-member,  by  actual  descent,  become  entitled 
to  church-membership  until  he  forfeits  it  by  his  own 
conduct.     It  is,  therefore,  a  privilege  of  the  beHever  to 
enroll  his  offspring  among  the  openly  covenanted  peo- 
ple of  God.     It  is  a  duty  which  he  owes  to  the  world, 
that  he  may  show  his  high  sense  of  the  Christian  name. 
It  is  his  duty  to  his  child  thus  to  put  him  in  the  posi- 
tion which  will  remind  him,  when  of  years  to  under- 
stand, that  he  is  of  the  covenanted  seed.     Volumes 
might  be  filled  with  the  blessed  consequences  of  such 
faitii  and  such  open  avowal  of  it.     And  were  Chris- 
tians more  faithful  in  following  up  the  vows  and  obli- 
gations they  assume,  and  in  impressing  upon  their  chil- 
dren the  obligations  under  which  they  rest,  the  num- 
bers of  such  blessed  consequences  would  be  greatly  en- 
larged. 

5.  Because  baptism  is  come  in  the  place  of  circum- 
cision, it  is  the  authorized  method  of  marking  the  dis- 
tinction between  the  children  of  the  covenanted  church 
and  those  of  unbelievers.  That  baptism  has  come  in 
the  place  of  circumcision,  we  have  already  proved. 
Circumcision  was  the  initiatory  rite  of  the  old  dispensa- 
tion. Baptism  is  that  of  the  new.  Circumcision  has 
been  done  away,  baptism  remains  ;  therefore  is  it  in 


the  place  of  circumcision.  The  objection  that  circum- 
cision was  confined  to  the  males,  and  therefore  cannot 
be  succeeded  by  baptism  which  females  are  also  to  re- 
ceive, is  preposterous.  All  who  are  in  Christ  are  to  be 
baptized  ;  but  in  Christ  there  is  neither  male  nor  female, 
and  therefore  all  are  to  be  baptized  without  distinction 
of  sex.  If  our  other  arguments  in  favor  of  infant 
baptism  are  valid,  it  must  be  administered  to  all  the 
infants  of  believers,  as  the  more  gracious  sign  of  a  new 
and  better  dispensation. 


i 


^ 


LECTURE  XXXV. 


TEE  SACRAMENT  OP  THE  SUPPER. 


PART  L 


ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER. 


I. -ITS  INSTITUTION    AND  ITS  MODE. 

Quest.  LXXV.  How  art  thou  admonished  and  assured  in  the  Lord's  sup- 
per that  thou  art  a  partaker  of  that  one  sacrifice  of  Christ  accomplished 
on  the  cross,  and  of  all  his  benefits  f 

Ans.  Thus:  that  Christ  has  commanded  me  and  all  believers  to  eat  of 
this  broken  bread,  and  to  drink  of  this  cup,  in  remembrance  of  Iiim, 
adding  these  promises:  first,  that  his  body  was  offered  and  broken  on 
the  cross  for  me,  and  his  blood  shed  for  me,  as  certainly  as  I  see  with 
my  eyes  the  bread  of  the  Lord  broken  for  me,  and  the  cup  communi- 
cated'to  me;  and,  further,  that  he  feeds  and  nourishes  my  soul  to  ever- 
lasting life  with  his  crucified  body  and  shed  blood,  as  assuredly  as  I 
receive  from  the  hand  of  the  minister  and  taste  with  my  mouth  the 
bread  and  cup  of  the  Lord,  as  certain  signs  of  the  body  and  blood  of 

Christ. 
Quest.  LXXVI.     What  is  it,  then,  to  eat  {of)  the  crucified  body  and  drink 

{of)  the  shed  hhod  of  Christ  f 
Ans.  It  is  not  only  to  embrace  with  a  believing  heart  all  the  sufferings 
and  death  of  Christ,  and  thereby  to  obtain  pardon  of  sin  and  life  eter- 
nal ;  but  also,  besides  that,  to  become  more  and  more  united  to  his 
sacred  body  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  dwells  both  in  Christ  and  us;  so 
that  we,  though  Christ  is  in  heaven  and  we  on  earth,  are, notwithstand- 
ing," flesh  of  his  flesh  and  bone  of  his  bone,"  so  that  we  live  and  are 
governed  forever  by  one  spirit,  as  members  of  the  same  body  are  by 

one  soul. 
Quest.  LXX VII.     Where  has  Christ  promised  that  he  will  as  certainly  feed 

and  nourish  believers  with  his  body  and  blood,  as  they  eat  of  this  broken 

brend  and  diink  of  this  cup  f 
Ans.  In  the  institution  of  the  supper  it  is  thus  expressed:  "The  Lord 
Jesus  the  same  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed,  took  bread:  and  when 
he  hud  given  thanks  he  brake  it  and  said,  Take,  eat;  this  is  my  body 
which  is  broken  for  you:  this  do  in  remembrance  of  me."  1  Cor.  xi. 
23-26.  The  promise  is  repeated  by  the  holy  apostle  Paul,  when  he  says : 
"  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless,  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the 
blood  of  Christ?"    1  Cor.  x.  16. 

HAVING  carefully  considered  and  expounded  the 
doctrine  and  benefits  of  holy  baptism,  which  is  the 
ordinance  initiatory  to  the  church  of  Christ  visible  on 


r 


>\ 


I 

1 

1 ' 

i 

■ 

%w 


'•  \ 


2Q4:         THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER:       i.LECT.  XXXV. 

earth,  we  shall  now  treat  ill  full  of  The  Holy  Sup- 
TEK,  which  is  the  confirmatory  ordhiance  of  our  faith 
and  practice  as  members  of  the  Christian  church  ;  for, 
as  it  is  necessary  to  our  salvation,  not  only  that  we 
should  believe  and  profess  Christ's  religion,  but  also 
should   persevere  in  the   duties  of  Christian   practice 
even  to  the  end  of  our  lives,  so  it  is  necessary  that  not 
only  we  should  be  bom  again  of  the  Spirit,  but  also 
that  we  should  be  nourished  by  the  Spirit  to  a  constant 
growth  of   our  divine  life  until  it  is  made  perfect  in 
glory.     Hence  the   appointment  of   the  holy  supper, 
which,  by  its  expressive  emblems  and  frequent  adminis- 
liation,  represents   and   confirms   to  the  believer  the 
maintenance  and  increase  of  his  Christianity  from  his 
communion   and   enjoyment  of  Christ,  his  only  life, 
strength,  and  head.     Before  entering  on  our  proposed 
discussion,  let   us   remind  ourselves  of  the  definition 
which  our  church  gives  of  the  sacraments  in  the  Twen- 
ty-fifth Lord's  Day,  sixty-sixth  question  and  answer  of 
the  Catechism  :  "  The  sacraments  are  holy,  visible  signs 
and  seals,  appointed  of  God  for  this  end,  that  by  the 
use  thereof  he  may  the  more  fully  declare  and  seal  to 
us  the  promise  of  the  gospel,  viz :  that  he  grants  us 
freely  the  remission  of  our  sins,  and  life  eternal,  for  the 
sake  of  the  one  sacrifice  of  Christ  accomplished  on  the 
cross."     They  are  holt/,  for  it  is  necessary  that  they  be 
appointed  of  God ;  visible,  for  they  are  ordinances  of 
the  church  visible :  they  are  signs  to  represent  invisi- 
ble, because  spiritual,  realities  ;  and  seals,  because  they 
are  granted  to  confirm  the  word  of  grace  in  the  prom- 
ises of  the  gospel ;  and  they  are  intended  to  bring  us 
to  a  more  lively  contemplation  and  appropriation  of  the 
salvation  accomplished  for  us  by  the  one  sacrifice  of 
Christ  on  the  cross. 


Lect.XXXV.]      ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE. 


265 


Not  forgetting  these  fundamental  facts  and  truths,  we 
must  consider  this  second  sacrament,  commonly  called 
the  Lord's  supper,  under  several  heads  :  — 

First  :  Its  institution.  Secondly  :  Its  mode. 
Thirdly  :  Its  purpose.  Fourthly  :  Its  partici- 
pants. 

This  order  is  somewhat  changed  from  that  of  the 
Catechism,  but  no  more  than  is  desirable  for  the  sake 
of  convenience. 

First  :  The  institution  or  appointment  of  the  Lord's 
supper. 

Our  blessed  Lord,  being  by  his  human  lineage  and  by 
his  circumcision  one  of  the  Israelitish  church,  observed 
all  its  ordinances  until  their  end  was  accomplished  by 
his  vicarious  death  on  the  cross.  Of  these  ordinances, 
the  Passover,  or  feast  of  the  paschal  lamb,  was  the  prin- 
cipal. It  represented  two  things :  first,  the  salvation 
of  the  first-born  of  Israel  from  the  angel  who  slew  all 
the  first-born  of  Egypt,  and  distinguished  the  dwellings 
of  the  chosen  people  by  the  blood  of  the  lamb  slain 
under  divine  command,  which  was  sprinkled  on  their 
door-posts  ;  secondly,  the  exodus  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt 
by  the  miraculous  deliverance  and  guidance  of  God, 
the  covenanted  Jehovah  of  their  fathers.  It  was  essen- 
tial to  the  observance  of  this  feast  that  a  spotless  first- 
ling male  of  the  flock  should  be  slain  (care  being  taken 
that  not  a  bone  of  it  was  broken),  and  that  each  Israel- 
ite should  partake  of  its  flesh  as  their  families  were  as- 
sembled in  convenient  numbers  for  the  purpose.  The 
time  of  its  celebration  was  in  the  evening  of  the  second 
day  of  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread,  the  lamb  having 
been  slain  on  the  first. 

Our  Lord  had  observed  the  other  passovers  without 


r' 


■ii  • 


It 


266         THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER:      [Lect.  XXXV. 

special  comment  to  his  disciples ;   but  the  evangelists 
represent  him  as  preparing  for  the  last,  which  was  on 
the  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed,  with  peculiar  care 
and  solemnity.     "  With  desire,"  said  he,  as  he  sat  down 
with  the  twelve  apostles,  "  I  have  desired  to  eat  of  this 
passover  before  I  suffer."      The  reasons  for  this  are 
©bvious.      The  passover,  though  commemorative,  was 
In  a  higher  degree  typical.      The  event  it  commemo- 
rated was  typical  of  the  deliverance  of  his  people  from 
the  death  of  the  law,  and  their  deUverance  out  of  the 
bondage  of  Satan.     The  paschal  lamb  typified  himself, 
at  once  the  sacrifice  for  his  people,  and  their  deliverer. 
He  was  about  to  fulfil  by  his  death  on  the  cross,  and  by 
his  resurrection,  all  the  salvation  God  had  promised  by 
covenant  and  by  sign.     He,  therefore,  avails  himself 
of  the  last  opportunity  before  he  suffered,  and  of  the 
expressive  rite  itself,  to  ordain  for  his  church  in  all  ages 
a  sacrament  which  should  confirm  their  faith  by  a  re- 
membrance of  his  death  and  their  deliverance.     Three 
evangelists  give  an  account  of  his  action  in  nearly  the 
same  words.      Matthew  says :  "  As  they  were  eating, 
Jesus  took  bread,  and  blessed  it,  and  brake  it,  and  gave 
it  to  the  disciples,  and  said,  Take,  eat ;  this  is  my  body. 
And  he  took  the  cup  (for  wine  was  always  used  at  the 
paschal  supper)  and  gave  thanks  and  gave  it  to  them, 
saying,  Drink  ye  all  of  it ;  for  this  is  my  blood  of  the 
New  Testament,  which  is  shed  for  many  for  the  remis- 
sion  of  sins."      Luke's  version  varies  from  those  of 
Matthew  and  Mark  by  adding  afler  the  words  "  This  is 
my  body  " — "  which  is  given  for  you  ;  this  do  in  remem- 
brance of  me."     That  our  Lord  meant  thus  to  institute 
a  perpetual  ordinance  is  established  by  the  manifest  im- 
port of  the  words  themselves,  and  the  practice  of  the 


Lect.  XXXV.]       ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE. 


267 


church  on  and  after  the  day  of  Pentecost ;  but  also  put 
beyond  doubt  by  the  apostle  Paul  in  1  Cor.  xi.  23-26 : 
"  For  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  that  which  also  I 
delivered  unto  you.  That  the  Lord  Jesus  the  same  night 
in  Avhich  he  was  betrayed  took  bread ;  and  when  he 
had  given  thanks,  he  brake  it,  and  said,  Take,  eat;  this 
is  my  body,  which  is  broken  for  you  ;  this  do  in  remem- 
brance of  me.  After  the  same  manner,  also,  he  took 
the  cup,  when  he  had  supped,  saying,  This  cup  is  the 
New  Testament  in  my  blood  ;  this  do  ye,  as  oft  as  ye 
drink  of  it,  in  remembrance  of  me.  For,  as  often  as  ye 
eat  this  bread  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's 
death  till  he  come." 

From  this  collation  of  these  several  passages,  we  note 
several  things  :  1.  That  our  Lord  changed  the  Passover, 
which  was  a  sacrament  of  the  Old  Testament,  or  cove- 
nant with  Abraham,  into  the  Lord's  supper,  as  a  sacra- 
ment of  the  New  Testament,  or  the  covenant  of  God 
with  Christ,  as  the  head  of  his  church.  2.  That  our 
Lord  brake  not  the  flesh  of  the  paschal  lamb,  which 
was  a  sacrifice,  but  bread,  which  is  an  emblem  of  nour- 
ishment ;  and  afterward  represented  his  blood  by  wine, 
which  is  an  emblem  of  joy,  for  the  cup  of  wine  which 
our  Lord  thus  used  was  at  the  end  of  the  Passover,  and 
was  called  the  cup  of  blessing,  or  praise,  or  of  salva- 
tion (Ps.  cxvi.  13)  ;  thus  showing  that  there  was  to  be 
no  farther  expiatory  sacrifice  or  shedding  of  blood,  but 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  sacrament,  as  a  commemoration 
of  Christ's  death,  was  thenceforward  to  be  the  nourish- 
ment and  joy  of  Christian  souls.  3.  That,  as  the  sacra- 
ment was  one  of  faith  in  the  accomplishment  of  salva- 
tion by  the  death  of  Christ,  and  of  thanksgiving  for 
such  inestimable  benefits,  it  was  to  continue  until  Christ, 


M 


^ 

4 


. 


m 


%^  THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER:    [Lect.  XXXV. 

who  is  not  dead  but  risen,  shall  come  from  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father  to  receive  his  people  unto  himself. 
4.  That  they  who  by  true  faith  partake  of  the  elements, 
bread  and  wine,  thus  ordained  and  consecrated,  become 
united  to  Christ's  body,  and  so  are  made  partakers  of 
all  the  benefits  which  Christ,  the  head  of  the  church, 
receives  by  virtue  of  the  covenant  of  God  the  Father 
for  the  church,  which  is  his  body. 

We  also  learn  the  reasons  for  the  several  appellations 
given  to  this  sacrament :  The  Lord's  supper  (1  Cor. 
li  2§),  because  it  was  ordained  at  the  paschal  supper 
in  the  evening ;  the  Lord's  table  (1  Cor.  x.  21),  be- 
cause the   disciples  were  and  are  gathered  around   a 
table  at  the  head  of  which  he  was,  and  by  his  spirit 
still  is,  —  not  an  altar,  as  though  it  were  a  sacrifice,  but 
a  table,  because  it  is  a  feast ;  the  communion  (1  Cor. 
X.  16),  because  those  who  receive  it  are  made  partakers 
individually  and  in  common  Qf  the  body  of  Christ,  and 
so  are  confirmed  in  fellowship  with  him  and  with  each 
other  in  him :  "  For  we  being  many  are  one  bread  and 
one  body,  for  we  are  all  partakers  of  that  one  bread; " 
the  enqharist,  or  thanksgiving,  a  name  not  given  to 
it  expressly  by  any  Scripture,  but  with  good   reason 
adopted  by  the  church,  because  it  is  a  sacrament  of 
praise  and  thanksgiving  for  the  great  benefits  flowing 
from  Christ's  meritorious  death  to  all  who  truly  receive 
him  into  their  hearts.     For  we  must  remember,  again, 
that  our  sacrament  was  not  instituted  until  after  the  last 
passover,  and  the  cup  of  wine  was  that  which  the  Israel- 
ites were  accustomed  to  partake  of  at  the  close  of  their 
feast,  and  was  called    by  them  the  cup  of  salvation, 
or  of   thanksgiving.      Thus  all  the    circumstances  of 
its  institution  by  oiif  divine  Lord,  and  all  the  names 


Lect.  XXXV.]       ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE. 


269 


by  which  it  was  known  to  the  primitiv^e  church,  show 
that  this  sacrament  is  not  a  sacrifice  offered  in  hope  of 
benefits  to  be  obtained,  but  a  thankful  celebration  and 
believing  participation  of  benefits  already  purchased  for 
us  by  Christ  on  the  cross,  and  held  for  us  as  an  open 
treasury  of  full  supplies  by  Christ  on  his  throne  till  he 
come  again  at  the  consummation  of  all  things. 
We  are  now  prepared  to  consider. 
Secondly  :   The  inode  of  this  sacrament, 
1.  The  elements^  or  the  material  signs.      These  are 
bread  and  wine. 

The  bread,  with  which  our  Lord  actually  instituted 
the  sacrament,  being  the  bread  of  the  Passover,  was 
undoubtedly  unleavened  bread,  wliich  has,  in  ages  past, 
led  some  to  think  that  a  careful  conformity  to  our  Lord's 
example  should  require  us  to  use  no  other  in  our  cele- 
brations of  it.  Indeed,  there  was  a  fierce  dispute  be- 
tween the  scholastic  doctors  of  the  Roman  church  and  the 
doctors  of  the  Greek  church  on  this  point :  the  Greeks 
calling  the  Latins  opprobriously  azymites  (a,  priv., 
and  Cw,  leaven),  because  they  consecrated  unleavened 
bread,  and  the  Latins  retorting  angrily  on  the  Greeks 
for  having  departed  from  the  primitive  usage.  The 
Latins  were,  however,  by  no  means  unanimous  in  this 
respect,  for  the  schoolmen  met  with  stout  opponents 
from  among  their  own  communion  ;  and  I  believe  the 
general  sentiment  of  the  Romish  doctors  is  against  the 
schoolmen.  It  is  decided  by  learned  men  that  the  use 
of  unleavened  bread  and  wafers  was  unknown  in  the 
church,  except  among  the  heretical  Ebionites,  until  the 
eleventh  century  at  the  earliest,  the  bread  before  that 
time  being  taken  from  the  offerings  of  bread  and 
wine  brought  by  the  communicants  for  the  use  of  the 


■lir' 


;     '; 


I 

i 


270 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER  :     [Lect.  XXXV. 


poor,*  when  of  course  the  bread  was  leavened.  Some  of 
the  early  fathers  (as  Ambrose,  De  Sac.  iv.  4)  expressly 
say  that  the  bread  they  used  was  common  bread  (^panis 
tuiitatu8^.1[    The  only  scripture  bearing  upon  this  point 
is  that  in  1  Cor.  v.  7,  8  :  "  For  even  Christ  our  passover 
is  sacrificed  for  us  ;  therefore  let  us  keep  the  feast,  not 
with  the  old  leaven,  neither  with  the  leaven  of  malice 
and  wickedness,  bilt  with  the  unleavened  bread  of  sin- 
cerity and  truth."      There  is  no  reason,  however,  to 
think  that  the  apostle  there  is  giving  directions  about 
the  eucharist,  but  that  he  only  uses  a  striking  figure  to 
signify  the  purity  and  humility  and  unanimity  which 
the  church  should  maintain.      There  was  a  commemo- 
rative reason  for  the  use  of  unleavened  bread  in  the 
Passover,  which  commemorated  the  haste  of  the  Israel- 
ites in  escaping  from  Egjrpt,  but  it  has  no  significance 
under  the  New  Testament ;  and  it  should  be  rejected 
as  a  part  of  the  painful  services  required  under  the  now 
obsolete  yoke  of  bondage.     Bread  in  our  sacrament  is 
an  emblem  of  strength  and  confidence,  which  the  ab- 
sence of  leaven  would  impair.     But  it  is  essential  to 
tlie    sacrament  that  bread,  not  wafers,  —  substantial, 
home-like,  every-day  bread,  —  should  be  employed  and 
partaken  of,  in  order  to  our  more  complete  realization 


•  We  know  from  Acts  ii.  44,  45,  that,  during  the  f!;reat  Pentecostal  bless- 
ings, the  early  Christians  held  all  their  means  for  the  relief  of  their  poorer 
brethren  "  as  every  man  had  need."  It  would  be,  therefore,  natural  and 
likely  that  they  would  bring  offerings  for  the  poor  when  they  came  to  the 
Lord's  table,  which  offerings  might  be  in  kind,  as  bread  and  wine,  or  in 
money.  Certainly,  from  the  earliest  times,  gifts  to  the  poor  were  accompa- 
niments of  the  sacrament ;  and  the  custom  in  our  churches  of  making  a 
collection  for  the  poor  of  the  Lord's  house  at  the  communion  table  has  thus 
come  down  to  us  from  the  Pentecost,  and  should  never  be  omitted.  It  is 
part  of  the  eucharistical,  or  thanksgiving,  service. 

■f  See  Bingham,  Ecc.  Ant.  Vol.  V.  p.  196,  et  seq. 


Lect.  XXXV.]       US  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE.  271 

of  our  constant  dependence  on  Christ  for  the  support  of 
our  Christian  life.  Indeed,  we  have  reason  to  know 
that  the  early  Christians  not  only  celebrated  the  Lord's 
supper  often,  but  that  they  were  wont  to  make  an  imi- 
tation of  it  when  they  sat  down  to  their  ordinary  meal, 
especially  when  believers  long  parted,  or  from  a  distance, 
chanced  to  meet  together. 

Wine,  in  the  second  part  of  the  sacrament  or  com- 
munion of  the  cup,  is  the  element  essential  to  its  right 
administration.      There  can  be  no  question  that  our 
Lord  used  wine  ;  for  not  only  was  the  cup  of  blessing  at 
the  close  of  the  Passover  filled  with  wine,  but  both 
Matthew  and  Mark  tell  us  that  immediately  afterwards 
he  said :  "  I  will  not  drink  henceforth  of  this  fruit  of 
the  vine,  until  that  day  I  drink  it  new  with  you  in  my 
Father's  kingdom."     The  cup  was  an  emblem  of  joy, 
which  could  not  have  been  if  it  were  filled  with  any 
other  hquid.     It  was  also  significant  of  the  manner  in 
w^hich  Christ's  blood  was  pressed  out  of  him  by  his 
agony,  as  the  wine  is  pressed  from  the  grapes.     It  was 
also  in  accordance  with  the  prophecies,  especially  that 
remarkable  one  in  Isaiah  (xxv.  6),  where  he  employs 
the  figure  of  a  feast  to  describe  the  evangelical  dispen- 
sation :  "  And  in  this  mountain  shall  the  Lord  of  hosts 
make  unto  all  people  a  feast  of  fat  things,  a  feast  of 
wines  on  the  lees ;    of  fat  things  full  of  marrow,  of 
wines  on  the  lees  well  refined."  Some  say  that  the  wine 
employed  by  the  Saviour  and  drunk  by  the  Jews  at  the 
Passover  was  not  intoxicating  wine,  but  a  species  of 
must ;  yet  this  is  far  from  being  ascertained,  besides 
being  contradictory  to  Isaiah's  description  of  it  as  wine 
on  the  lees  well  refined,  and  also  destructive  of  the  idea 
of  joy  or  exhilaration.     The  plea  for  substituting  some 


272  THE  SACRAMENT  OF  TUB  SUPPER  :     [Lect.  XXXV. 

unfermented  drink,  such  as  water  or  milk,  in  the  place 
of  wine,  that  it  encourages,  perhaps  suggests,  intemper- 
ance, is  profane,  for  it  impeaches  the  propriety  of  our 
Lord's  example,  as  if  it  were  not  sufficient  m  all  ages 
Yet  to  such  impious  lengths  has  a  superscr.ptural  zeal 
for  reform  been  carried  by  some  who  wou  d  be  wiser 
than  their  infallible  Lord !  No  wonder  that  their  reform 
has  been  so  greatly  a  failure  ;  for  the  pleasure  of  him 
whose  blessing  alone  can  make  efforts  at  fo^  efficient 
must  be  withheld  from  measures  which  fortify  them- 
selves by  disobedience  to  the  divine  command,  and  im- 
peachment of  Christ's  wisdom  and  exemplary  virtue. 
Care  should  be  taken  that  the  wine  is  the  genuine  fruit 
of  the  grape,  not  the  base  mixtures  which  counterfeit ; 
and  pure  wine  can  be  obtained,  if  sufficient  care  be 

■folrpTi 

There  can,  however,  be  little  doubt  that  the  practice 
of  mincrlincr  the  sacramental  wine  with  water  obtained 
largelyln  the  primitive  church.     It  was  based  on  the 
asserted  custom  of  the  Jews  so  to  mingle  the  wme  ot 
the  Passover  with  water,  and  also  on  the  fact  that  when 
our  Lord's  heart  was  pierced  by  the  spear  of  the  soldier, 
there  flowed  from  it  blood  mingled  with  water.       ihe 
more  learned  doctors,  both  Romanist  and  Protestant, 
are  now  mostly  agreed  in  thinking  the  practice  unne- 
cessary.    The  wines  of  Palestine  are  strong  and  heady, 
so  as  to  give  a  reason  for  their  being  reduced,  which 
does  not  exist  now,  when  light,  pure  wines  may  be 
readily  obtained ;    and  as  to  the  water  which  flowed 
from  the  heart  (or  pericardium)  of  our  Lord,  he  him- 
self makes  no  allusion  to  it,  but  speaks  only  of  the  wme 
when  appointing  the  cup  as  the  sign  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment.    There  can,  however,  be  little  objection  made  to 


LEtT.  XXXV.]      ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE. 


273 


the  mingling  of  water  with  the  sacramental  wine,  but 
there  is  no  authority  for  it ;  and  it  is  best  not  to  go  be- 
yond what  is  written. 

2.  The  formula^  or,  as  our  church  expresses  it, 
"  words  of  the  institution." 

As  the  church,  having  no  right  to  ordain  sacramental 
ceremonies,  is  bound  to  receive  and  observe  those  which 
our  Lord  and  his  apostles  have  appointed,  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  supper  is  not  validly  administered 
except  the  authority  and  purpose  of  it  be  declared  out 
of  the  word  of  God,  by  the  solemn,  formal  recital  of 
our  Lord's  own  language  when  instituting  the  supper, 
and  that  of  the  apostle  Paul  where  he  confirms  and  fur- 
ther enjoins  it.  Thus  our  church,  in  her  "  form,"  or 
office,  "  for  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  supper," 
begins  it  by  reciting  the  passage  (1  Cor.  xi.  23-BO)  in 
which  the  apostle  Paul  cites  from  the  gospels  the  ac- 
count of  its  appointment  by  our  Lord  himself;  and, 
also,  adds  his  apostolical  declaration  of  our  duty  and 
meaning  and  responsibility  rightly  to  observe  it.  Not 
satisfied  with  this,  in  a  subsequent  part  of  the  form, 
and  that  we  who  faithfully  commune  may  firmly  believe 
that  we  belong  to  the  covenant  of  grace,  our  church 
repeats  the  account  from  the  gospels  of  the  last  supper 
of  our  Lord  with  his  disciples. 

From  the  necessities  of  our  nature  we  may  often 
partake  of  bread  and  wine  in  company  with  fellow- 
Christians,  and  like  the  early  Christians  we  may  see  in 
our  household  meal  parables  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ ;  but  it  is  obvious  that  the  confusion  of  such 
ordinary  meals  with  the  divine  sacrament  of  the  supper 
would  lead  to  licentious  and  impious  abuse.  The  apos- 
tle, in  the  same  chapter  which  enjoins  the  sacrament, 


VOL.  II. 


18 


-    Jib  1!^  ^^^^liirWr^Hr 


|J|CRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER:      [Lect.  XXXV. 

evidently  rebukes  abuses  of  this  sort  when  he  says :    . 
«*  When  ye  come  together,  therefore,  into  one  place, 
[this]  is  not  to  eat  the  Lord's  supper;  for  in  eating, 
every  one  taketh  before  other  his  own  supper ;  and  one 
Is  hungry  and  another  is  drunken.     What !   have  ye 
.,1111  houses  to  eat  and  to  drink  in  ?     Or  despise  ye  the 
church  of  God  ?     What  shall  I  say  to  you  ?     Shall  1 
praise  you  in  this?     I  praise  you  not."     He  then  pro- 
ceeds  with  the  solemn  words :  -  For  I  have  received 
©£  the  Lord  Jesus  that  which  also  I  delivered  unto 
you  "  &c.     Hence  we  infer,  that,  as  in  the  admmistra- 
tion  of  baptism  the  formula  appointed  by  our  Lord, 
"  In  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  should  be  pronounced,  so  the  admmis- 
tration  of  this  sacrament  is  not  valid,  except  the  words 
which  our  Lord  and  his  apostle  used  in  its  appomtment 
and  confirmation  be  reverently  employed  to  distmguish 

it  from  all  other  feasts.  ,     ^  .    .. 

It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  the  words  of  msti- 
tution  may  not  be  accompanied  by  instructions  and 
exhortations  fitted  to  the  service.     On  the  contrary, 
such  are  highly  desirable  for  the  better  acquamtance  of 
the  people  with  their  duties  and  privileges.    Experience 
has  shown  that,  notwithstanding  the  revealed  teachm^ 
on  the  subject,  people  are  prone  to  misunderstand  and 
misappropriate  the  sacrament ;  and,  therefore,  as  preach- 
ing  upon  other  Scriptures  is  no  dishonor  to  their  effi- 
ciency, but  a  specially  appointed  means  of  edification, 
so  such  exposition  may  be  made,  and  with  profit,  of  the 
Scriptures  ordaining  the  sacraments.     It  has  also  been 
found,  that,  at  the  time  of  celebrating  this  very  solemn 
rite,  the  hearts  of  the  people  are  more  than  usually  dis- 
posed to  hear  and  receive  instruction  respecting  the 


Lect.  XXXV.]      ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE.  275 

great  facts  and  doctrines  and  duties  of  religion ;  and 
therefore  it  is  most  meet  and  desirable  that  such  in- 
struction should  be  carefully  given.     So  important  did 
this  appear  to  our  fathers  of  the  Reformed  churches, 
that  they  all  (I  am   not  aware  of  any  exception   in 
Great  Britain   or   on    the  Continent)  prepared,  with 
great  pains,  forms,  or  offices,   which   should  be  used 
whenever  the  Lord's  supper  was  administered.     This 
they  did,  evidently,  from  a  consideration  that,  though  a 
faithful  and  intelligent  pastor  would  not  administer  the 
sacrament  without  a  due   exposition   of  it,  yet,   that 
there  might  be  found  pastors  too  careless  or  less  quali- 
fied to  expound  it  fully ;  and  so,  to  secure  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  people  and  to  prevent   errors  or  abuses 
creeping  in,  the  churches  took  the  duty  into  their  own 
hands,  so  far  as  to  require  the  reading  or  recital  of  a 
sufficient   form    which   had    their   corporate   sanction. 
Any  reader  of  the  disputes  and  difficulties  which  oc- 
curred then  respecting  the  doctrine  and  manner  of  the 
supper,  will  see  at  once  how  necessary  such  appointed 
forms  were  ;  and  any  one  who  knows  the  deceitfulness 
of  the  human  heart  will  acknow^ledge  that  what  has 
occurred  may  occur  again.      Some  of  the  Reformed 
churches,  as  the  Presbyterian  in  Great  Britain  and  this 
country,  have  allowed  their  ancient  forms  to  become 
obsolete  ;  but  our  church,  Hke  the  churches  of  the  Con- 
tinent, has  retained  in  her  service-book  the  form  pre- 
pared and  appointed  by  our  fathers.      Its  excellence, 
though  somewhat  marred  by  defects  and  errors  in  our 
translation,  is  so  high,  that  it  may  without  extravagance 
be  pronounced  the  best  uninspired  commentary  on  the 
Lord's  supper,  of  equal  length,  in  any  language.     Our 
church  does  not  claim  authority  to  dictate  beyond  the 


Pi 


I 


1 


fii        THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE   SUPPER:       [Lect.  XXXV 

warrant  of  Holy  Scriptures  ;  but  when  she  solemnly 
recommends,  through  the  unanimous  voice  of  her  as- 
semblies and  presbyters  and  people  for  so  many  years,  a 
form  of  sound  words  in  full  undoubted  accordance  with 
Ae  articles  of  her  faith,  which  we  profess  to  believe, 
fer  the  better  and  aniform  administration  of  the  sacra- 
ment, it  seems  only  decent  and  just  that  such  form 
should  be  used,  except  in  such  very  extraordinary  cases 
where  it  would  be  impracticable  or  burdensome.     To 
allow  each  or  any  administrator  of  the  sacrament  to 
omit  parts  of  the  form  at  bia  option  would  be  to  risk 
the  value  of  the  whole,  as  he  might  omit  parts  in  order 
to  screen  his  own  unsoundness  of  doctrine  or  discipline 
from  the  condemnation  of  the  church.     For  one  man, 
from  his  own  personal  judgment  of  its  fitness  or  unfit- 
ness, to  omit  or  amend  the  words  of  our  united  church, 
savors  little  of  modesty  and  much  of  impertinent  pre- 
sumption.    If  the  form  be  faulty,  from  the  great  length 
or  for  any  other  reason,  let  it  be  duly  altered  by  the 
united,  pious  wisdom  of  the  church ;  but  it  were  pain- 
ful  to  think   of  leaving   her  well-digested,  venerable 
words  to  the  rashness  of  every  self-sufficient,  egotistical 
meddler  who  sets  himself  up  for  a  pope  in  his  little 
sphere.     As  it  is,  if  the  form  be  faithfully  and  solemnly 
read,  our  Christian  people  are,  at  least  four  times  a 
year,  reminded  and  made  to  consider  the  doctrines  and 
duties  taught  by  the  sacrament  in  a  discourse  or  treatise 
s#  able  and  pious  that  there  lives  no  single  man,  what- 
ever be  his  intellect  or  attainments,  who  can  write  one 
as  good,  or  amend  it  by  omission  or  addition.     Guard 
that  precious  form,  beloved  Christians,  from  corruption 
or  garbling.     If  the  united  church  sees  fit  to  make 
changes  in  it,  there  is  little  doubt  of  their  being  judi- 


Lect.  XXXV.]      ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE. 


277 


cious  ;  but  frown  upon  any  attempt  to  touch  its  integ- 
rity by  any  individual. 

3.  The  action. 

It  is  not  enough  that  the  bread  and  wine  be  set  forth 
to  the  eyes  of  the  people,  but  essential  to  the  sacra- 
ment that  the  very  action  of  our  Lord,  when  he  pre- 
sented the  elements  to  his  disciples,  should  be  called  to 
mind,  and  this  by  the  action  of  the  administrator ;  for 
as  the  sacrament  is  in  every  part  a  sign,  so  every  part 
of  the  sign  should  be  preserved  and  perpetuated,  that 
thereby  the  things  signified  should  be  visibly,  L  e.  by 
visible  forms,  brought  before  the  people  for  their  spirit- 
ual edification.    Therefore,  the  bread  should  be  broken, 
and  the  wine  poured  forth  or  extended  (for  we  do  not 
read  that  our  Lord  did  actually  pour  the  wine  into  the 
cup  when  he  consecrated  it),  the  administrator  at  the 
same  time  declaring,  in  tlie  words  of  Scripture,  that  the 
broken  bread  and  the  wine  in  the  cup  are  separate  bv 
the  communion,  the  one  of  the  body,  the  other  of  the 
blood  of  Christ.     For  it  is  not  the  bread  in  the  loaf, 
or  the  wine  in  the  cup,  which  is  the  communion  of 
Christ,  but  the  bread  and  the  cup,  distributed  and  re- 
ceived by  the  communicants  with  their  mouth.    Hence 
the  apostle  says :  "The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless, 
is  it  not  the  communion  of  the  blood  of  Christ  ?     The 
bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the 
body  of  Christ  ?  "  which  shows  clearly  that  the  action 
of  our  Lord  is  to  be  repeated  by  the  officiator.     The 
action  of  the  sacrament  is  not  complete,  therefore,  even 
with  the  distribution  of  the  elements,  but  only  when 
the  believer  actually  receives  them  within  his  mouth, 
and  both   eats  the  one  and  drinks  the  other,  so  that 
there  be  a  real  participation.     The  administrator  does 


:f 


278         THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER:      [Lect.  XXXV. 

not  confer  the  grace  of  the  sacraments ;  he  but  does 
Ms  part  in  the  use  of  the  means,  by  extending  the  ele- 
ments through  which,  according  to  tlie  promise  of  God, 
Christ  offers  himself  to  our  participation.     The  recep- 
tion of  the  elements  is  the  action  by  which  the  believer 
declares  his  appropriation  to  himself  of  the  grace  prom- 
ised to  those  who   in  true   faith   use   the   sign  which 
Christ  has  ordained.     Hence,  our  Lord  expressly  com- 
manded the  disciples  to  eat  the  bread  :  "  Take,  eat ;  " 
and  to  drink  the  wine  :  "  Drink  ye  all  of  it."     Hence, 
also,  iSm  apostle  says :   "  As  often  as  ye  eat  of  this 
bread  and  drink  of  this  cup,  ye  do  show   [proclaim, 
KarayyiXi-e']    the   Lord's   death   till   he   come."      The 
notion  which  some,  who  are  unwilling  to  profess  Christ 
before  men,  are  fond  of  entertaining  that  they  may 
spiritually  partake  of  the  things  signified  in  the  sacra- 
ment, though  not  actually  partaking  of  the  elements, 
is  erroneous  and  dangerous.     That  such  grace  may  be 
allowed  in  special  cases,  (as  where  fair  opportunity  has 
not  been  had  to  obtain  admission  at  the  table,  &c.,)  we 
cannot  deny,  for  God  is  very  merciful  to  our  weak- 
nesses ;  but  the  believer  is  bound  to  take  his  part  in 
the  open  celebration,  or,  as  the  word  "  show  "  means, 
the  proclamation  or  setting  forth  of  Christ's  salvation, 
which  he  cannot  do  unless  he  actually  partakes  of  the 
proffered  elements. 
4.  Th^  posture. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  our  Lord  intended  by 
this  sacrament  to  present  before  the  church  a  lively 
representation  of  his  church  united  as  a  household  of 
God  around  a  family  table,  partaking  of  the  same  spir- 
itual food,  and  united  to  each  other  because  united  to 
Christ,  the  institutor  and  master  of  the  feast.     When 


Lect.  XXXV.]       ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE. 


279 


our  Lord  ordained  the  sacrament,  he  was  at  the  head 
of  the  table  of  the  paschal  supper,  and  administered 
the  bread  and  the  wine  to  his  disciples,  —  they,  like 
himself,  being  in  the  posture  common  to  them  at  their 
meals.  The  idea  of  a  family  in  the  communion  of  a 
household  feast,  is  welinigh  as  essential  to  the  sacra- 
ment as  that  of  receiving  by  faith  the  body  and  blood 
of  the  Lord.  But  a  table  is  essential  to  the  represen- 
tation of  that  sacred  idea ;  and  hence  the  apostle  speaks 
by  inspiration  of  "  the  table  of  the  Lord  "  ;  and  the 
Protestant  church  almost  universally  uses  the  term, 
"  the  Lord's  Table,"  as  synonymous  with  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  supper.  It  is  not  a  supper  in  common  (or 
communion),  except  as  we  gather  around  a  table,  and 
that  in  the  posture  we  ordinarily  use  on  such  occasions 
of  common  participation.  Hence  our  church,  in  com- 
mon with  most  of  the  Reformed  churches,  sets  before 
the  people  a  table  crowned  with  the  holy  elements,  and 
invites  the  true  disciples  of  Christ  to  separate  them- 
selves from  the  world,  and  gather  themselves  together 
about  the  table  that  they  may  sit  together  as  a  family 
of  God. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  our  houses  of  worship  are 
not  often  so  constructed  as  to  allow  the  setting  of  a 
table  sufficiently  large  for  all  the  communicants  to  seat 
themselves  at.  Those  who  have  had  an  opportunity 
of  being  present  at  a  communion  where  that  method 
was  employed  will  confess  that  the  solemnity  and  in- 
structiveness  of  the  rite  were  greatly  increased.  But 
since  this,  from  the  narrowness  of  our  church  aisles,  is 
not  often  feasible,  painful  expedients,  somewhat  oppo- 
site in  character,  have  been  resorted  to.  The  Scotch 
churches  and  some  others,  for  instance,  unwilling  to 


1)  i 


1 


280         THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER:      [Lkct.  XXXV. 

dimiakb  the  significance  of  the  table,  bring  forward 
the  communicants  in  successive  groups  suited  to  the 
mm  of  the  table,  administering  the  elements  to  each 
group  by  themselves.  But  in  so  doing  they  lose  the 
perhaps  equally  necessary  idea  of  communing  together 
and  ly;  the  same  time  as  one  family.  They  may,  it  is 
true,  commune  together  in  spirit,  but  the  outward  visi- 
ble form  of  the  communion  is  not  fully  maintained. 
As  the  apostle  says :  "  Every  one  taketh  before  other 
bis  own  supper.'* 

Some  other  churches,  as  our  own,  have  adopted  the 
opposite  and  scarcely  less  offensive  plan  of  gathering  as 
many  as  may  be  conveniently  brought  around  the  table, 
and  allowing  the  rest  to  occupy  the  ordinary  seats  of 
the  church,  trusting  that  in  their  own  minds  they  will 
consider  themselves   as  at  the  table,  while  commun- 
ing with  their  brethren  and  sisters    there.     Still   the 
significance  of  the  Lord's  table  is  greatly  impaired. 
Nor  do  we  hesitate  to  say  that  the  expedient  is  the 
reverse  of  edifying.     Certainly,  it  should  not  be  re- 
sorted to  except  by  necessity.     The  table  should  be  as 
large  as  possible,  and  no  other  seats  occupied,  but  when 
il  is  filled.     The  aged  or  infirm   may  very  well  be 
allowed  to  keep  their  previous  places,  for  the  gospel 
requires   no  painful  ordinances ;   but  others  have  no 
such  excuse,  and  ought  not  to  lose  any  benefit  of  the 
instructive  figure.    If  the  table  be  not  large  enough  for 
all,  those  who  cannot  find  places  at  it  should  at  least 
change  to  others,  that  they  in  outward  act  as  well  as  in 
thought  go  to  the  holy  table. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  mere  form  is  of  little  account, 
so  that  the  heart  be  right.  What  is  the  external  ad- 
ministration of  the  Lord's  supper  but  a  form  ?    and 


il 


LrxT.  XXXV.]       ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE.  281 

ordained  for  the  very  reason  that,  in  the  wisdom  of 
God,  form  is  necessary  to  the  exhibition  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  to  the  world  and  to  itself?  and  that  the 
appointed  sacraments,  as  outward  visible  forms,  or 
signs  or  seals,  are  highly  edifying,  by  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  to  those  who  profess  Christ  ?  The  same 
argument  that  would  do  away  with  one  part  of  the 
form  would  do  away  with  the  sacrament  altogether; 
which  is  the  case  with  the  Friends  or  Quakers,  who 
reject  the  outward  sacraments,  because,  as  they  say, 
they  spiritually  receive  the  truths  which  those  forms 
signify. 

^  The  Puritans,  with  all  their  other  virtues  and  ser- 
vices to  Christianity,  did  the  cause  of  religion  much 
harm  by  stripping  the  outward  church  of  associations, 
which,  from  our  human  nature,  God  has  mercifully  and 
wisely  employed  for  the  edification  and  comfort  of  his 
people  while  yet  in  the  body  of  flesh.     As  the  Quaker 
rejects  all  colors  but  drab,  though  God  has  scattered 
variegated  beauty  on  every  side,  so  the  Puritan  rejected 
all  but  straight  lines,  though  the  graceful  curve  is  seen 
in  every  leaf  and  wave  and  form  of  living  creature. 
We  may  not,  from  our  own  fancy  or  taste,  attempt  to 
improve  on  the  forms  which  God'has  appointed,  or  in- 
troduce superscriptural  novelties ;    but  we  should  retain 
all  the  illustrations  of  truth  he  has  given  us,  especially 
in   the  sacraments.      We  are  weak  creatures,  wholly 
dependent  on  God's  Holy  Spirit  through  the  means  of 
grace  for  our  upholding  ;  and  the  church  is  compared 
to  a  vine  which  has  not  strength  of  its  own  to  stand 
erect ;  but  the  vine  clasps  the  supporting  elm  or  trel- 
lis-work by  its  curiing  tendrils,  —  tendrils  because  they 
are  tender,  —  not   by  its  trunk  or  stronger  branches 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER:    [Lkct.  XXXV. 

only.  So  every  association  of  the  sacrament  has  its 
uses  to  help  the  tender  faith  and  clinging  affections  of 
the  lowly-minded  communicant,  conscious  of  his  own 
weakness,  but  clasping  the  strength  of  Christ.  We  are 
mot  Puritans,  but  of  the  Reformed  churches. 

You  see  by  these  observations  that  our  church  rejects 
those  customs,  in  observing  the  Lord's  supper,  which 
have  greatly  assisted  the  abominable  perversions  of  the 
Popish  mass,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  farther  to  show. 
Adopting  the  profane  and  absurd  belief  that  the  bread 
and  the  wine  were  actually  transubstantiated  (or 
changed  in  substance)  to  the  actual  body  and  blood  of 
our  Lord,  the  adherents  of  a  heathenish  compound  with 
Christianity  soon  came  to  believe  that  the  eucharist 
was  also  an  actual  repetition  of  our  Lord's  one  merito- 
rious sacrifice  on  the  cross.  Hence  they  were  so  fond 
as  to  consider  the  officiating  minister  a  priest  or  sacri- 
ficer,  contending  that  when  he  pronounced  the  words 
*'  This  is  my  body,"  and  "  This  is  my  blood,"  the 
bread  and  the  wine  not  only  underwent  in  his  hands 
the  transubstantiation,  but  also  became  the  victim 
which  he  (the  priest)  had  sacerdotal  power  to  offer 
meritoriously  to  God  for  the  remission  of  sins.  Hence, 
also,  the  holy  table  came  to  be  regarded  as  the  altar  on 
which  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  was  offered;  and  as 
they  were  taught  that  the  divinity  of  Christ  was  actu- 
ally in  the  bread  and  wine,  they  were  required  to  kneel 
in  adoration. 

It  is  not  denied  that  at  an  early  date  some  Christian 
writers  called  the  communion  table  the  altar,  —  but 
©wiacrr^ptov,  never  j8<oftos;  which  latter  word  is  used 
only  once  in  the  New  Testament  (Acts  vii.  23)  ;  but  it 
is  certain  that,  until  the  rise  of  transubstantiation,  they 


Lkct.  XXXV.]     ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE. 


283 


employed  the  term  as  synonymous  with  the  sacred 
table.  The  New  Testament  nowhere  assumes  even 
this,  and,  therefore,  no  usage  can  justify  it. 

Rejecting,  as  the  Reformed  churches  do,  the  whole 
doctrine  of  the  mass,  the  transubstantiation,  and  the 
sacrifice,  and  regarding  the  sacrament  as  a  commemo- 
rative and  illustrative  supper  or  feast,  we  also  reject 
the  word  priest,  other  than  as  applied  to  Christ,  the 
High  Priest,  or  to  every  Christian  who  offers  thanks 
unto  God ;  we  also  reject  the  word  altar,  believing  that 
Christ  in  heaven  is  the  only  altar  of  his  church,  and 
we  sit  at  the  Lord's  table  as  guests  of  Christ,  and  do 
not  kneel  in  idolatry  of  what  we  believe  to  be  mere 
emblems. 

There  are  Protestant  churches  in  which  the  terms 
priest  and  altar,  with  the  kneeling  posture  at  the 
eucharist,  are  retained ;  but  they  are  remnants  of  a 
superstition  which  should  be  considered  exploded,  and 
guarded  against  accordingly.  Luther,  thougli  he  re- 
jected the  priesthood  of  the  clergy,  and  the  repetition 
of  Christ's  sacrifice,  yet  clung  to  the  Popish  doctrine 
so  far  as  to  claim  for  the  elements  a  consubstantiation, 
as  he  termed  it,  with  Christ's  real  person.  So  his  fol- 
lowers retain  the  term  altar,  and  kneel  at  it  when  re- 
ceiving the  sacrament.  During  the  Reformation  in 
England,  under  Henry  VIH.  and  Elizabeth,  the  court 
politicians,  and  some  clergy  only  half-converted  from 
Rome,  were  anxious  to  conform  the  Prostestant  church 
as  much  as  they  could  to  the  old  superstitions,  that  the 
prejudices  of  the  people  might  not  be  shocked  by  too 
great  a  change  of  ritual.  Hence,  in  spite  of  vigorous 
remonstrances  from  more  determined  reformers  in  the 
new  English  church,  they  forced  upon  it  many  things 


rl 


2S4  THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER:      [Lect.  XXXV. 

which  had  better  have  been  aBancfoiiei,  ai^d  among 
them  the  terms  priest  and  ahar,  and  this  kneeling  at 
the  eucharist.  No  doubt,  many  pious  people  among 
them  kneel  around  the  altar  without  any  remnant  of 
idolatrous  superstition,  contending  that  kneeling  is  a 
most  solemn  posture,  fitted  for  so  solemn  an  act.  But 
as  it  destroys  the  idea  of  communion  at  the  table  of  the 
Lord,  kneeling,  though  a  fit  posture  in  other  devotional 
acts,  has  no  fitness  at  the  holy  communion.  It  is  a 
varialiiil  fi'om  our  Lord's  own  method,  and  it  gives 
favor  to  gross  errors. 

§•  The  administrator. 

As  was  said  in  treating  of  baptism,  the  proper  per- 
son to  administer  the  Lord's  supper  is  the  ordained 
minister,  the  bishop  settled  or  acting  for  the  time  being, 
<jC  the  church,  —  that  is  the  pastor,  who,  from  his  very 
name,  is  to  feed  the  flock  of  Christ.  At  every  feast 
some  one  sits  at  the  head  of  the  table  ;  and  Christ  is 
spiritually  at  the  head  of  his  own.  But  as  it  is  a  sensi- 
ble rite,  it  is  proper  that  the  Master  should  be  visibly 
represented,  which  can  be  by  none  so  properly  as  by 
one  of  those  whom  he  has  appointed  to  proclaim  his 
word,  and  whom  he  has  set  as  overseers  of  his  house. 
Hence  we  find  that  no  sect  or  denomination  of  Chris- 
tians who  acknowledge  an  ordained  ministry  allow  the 
administration  of  this  sacrament  to  any  other  hands 
than  theirs.  As  they  have  succeeded  the  apostles  in 
the  office  of  preaching,  so  they  succeed  the  apostles  in 

this. 

As  helpers  are  required  to  distribute  the  elements 
among  the  people,  our  church  commits  the  service 
wA  to  the  elders,  who  are  joined  with  the  minister  in 
the  oversight  of  the  church,  but  to  the  deacons,  whose 


I-BCI.  XXXV.]       ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE.  285 

very  name  signifies  servants,  and  who  were  appointed 
to  serve  tables.  This  service,  it  is  true,  was  for  the 
poor  ;  but  are  we  not  all  poor,  and  do  we  not  receive 
the  Lord's  bounty  at  his  holy  table  ?  Who  so  proper, 
then,  as  tlie  servants  of  the  Lord's  poor  to  minister  of 
his  bread  and  wine  to  us  ? 

6.  The  times  of  observance. 

It  appears  from  Scripture  that  the  celebration  of  this 
sacrament  was,  at  the  beginning,  part  of  every  Lord's 
day's  service,  as  we  read  (Acts  xx.  7) :  "  Upon  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  when  the  disciples  came  together 
to  break  bread,  Paul  preached  unto  them."  Nay,  it 
would  seem  that  during  the  great  joy  of  tire  Pentecost 
it  was  celebrated  every  day ;  for  they,  "  continuing  dailv 
with  one  accord  in  the  temple,  and  breaking  bread 
from  house  to  house,  did  eat  their  meat  [food]  with 
gladness  and  singleness  of  heart."  The  probability  is, 
that,  greatly  needing  divine  consolations  in  their  trials, 
and  being  prevented  by  tlieir  persecutors  from  assem- 
bling regularly  as  they  would  wish,  they  availed  them- 
selves of  every  opportunity  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of 
sacramental  communion.  Some  of  the  early  sects  con- 
tinued to  celebrate  it  every  day ;  and  it  is  quite  certain 
from  ecclesiastical  history  that  it  was  not  omitted  on 
the  first  day  of  the  week  for  at  least  three  centuries 
after  Christ,  so  that  Chrysostom  calls  the  Lord's  day, 
dies  panis^  the  Day  of  Bread. 

As  tlie  church  through  her  superstitions  relapsed 
into  coldness,  the  necessity  of  frequent  communion 
was  less  insisted  on.  Whereas,  first,  the  Christian 
professor  was  censured  for  omitting  the  communion 
on  any  one  Lord's  day,  he  was  then  required  to  com- 
mune once  at  least  in  three  weeks,  then  once  a  month, 


'( 


*    i 


I 


)■ 


n 


286  THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER:     [Lect.  XXXV. 

then  four  or  three  times  a  year,  then  once  a  year.  Yet, 
notwithstanding  such  latitude  to  the  people,  the  church 
of  Borne,  as  flie  Eastern  church,  celebrates  the  sacra- 
ment, however  improperly,  every  Lord's  day  for  such 
as  are  willing  to  receive  it.  It  is  remarkable  also  that 
Calvin,  among  other  censurers  of  the  church  of  Rome, 
and  of  those  partly,  though  not  entirely,  out  from  under 
its  influence,  reprobates  the  infrequency  of  communion 
as  a  "  most  certain  invention  *  of  the  devil,"  and  says 
that  "  at  least  every  week  the  table  of  the  Lord  should 
be  spread  for  assembled  Christians." 

Whether  or  not  our  church  is  wholly  right  in  cele- 
brating ilo  communion  only  four  times  a  year  (it  was 
at  first  SIX  times,  that  is,  every  other  month  f),  may 
not  be  without  question.  The  plea  for  such  infre- 
quency, however,  is,  that  more  frequent  communions 
have  a  tendency  to  render  the  sacrament  less  duly 
regarded,  and  degenerates  into  formality.  In  days  of 
persecution  and  martyrdom.  Christians  were  more 
lively,  and  had  a  stronger  appetite  for  the  holy  bread 
and  wine  ;  whereas  now  it  is  necessary  to  stir  up  their 
minds  to  the  duty  by  special  appeals  and  preparation, 
which  could  not  be  done  so  thoroughly  if  it  were  more 
often  administered.  This  only  acknowledges  the  re- 
missness of  the  church,  instead  of  justifying  her  pres- 
ent practice  ;  and  we  must  believe  that  if  the  church 
were  more  awake  to  the  great  benefits  of  the  Lord's 
sapper,  we  should  recur  to  the  primitive  usage. 

It  is  not  my  part,  however,  to  condemn  the  practice 
which  our  church  chooses  to  maintain,  though  I  am 
bound  in  treating  of  the  sacrament  to  give  the  facts.    I 

*  Certissimum  inventuin  diaboli.    Instit.  Lib.  iv.  17,  60. 
t  Vectii  Disputa,  Vol.  IV.  p.  761. 


It 


Lect.  XXXV.]      ITS  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS  MODE.  287 

may  not  venture  to  say  more,  but  I  have  not  dared  to 
say  less. 

It  may,  however,  be  added  that,  though  the  Scrip- 
tures distinctly  prescribe  the  manner  of  the  celebration, 
they  nowhere  prescribe  the  times  or  the  frequency  of 
it ;  and,  therefore,  latitude  is  allowed  to  the  judgment 
of  the  church  and  the  conscience  of  the  individual 
Christian.  Still,  as  the  declaration  is,  that  "  as  often  as 
we  eat  of  this  bread  and  drink  of  this  cup  we  do  show 
the  Lord's  death  till  he  come,"  the  latitude  allowed 
cannot  be  great  to  the  Christian  who  desires  to  grow  in 
grace  and  the  knowledge  of  his  Lord. 

Some  Christians,  though   comparatively  few,  have 
deemed  it  necessary  to  imitate  the  first  communion  so 
closely  as  to  insist  upon  its  celebration  in  the  evening, 
that  it  may  be  actually  a  supper  ;  and  it  would  appear 
that  the  breaking   of  bread  spoken  of  in  Acts  xx.  7 
was  in  the  evening,  for  Paul  preached  "  until  mid- 
night."    In  the  days  of  persecution,  also,  it  would  be 
the  safest  time  to  engage  in  religious  exercises.     But 
it  savors  of  too  great   rigidness  to  contend   that   the 
sacrament  should  not  be  administered  at  the  time  of 
day  most  convenient  for  the  assembly  of  the  people ; 
and,  no  doubt,  there  was,  and  might  be  again,  much 
licentious  evil   suspected  of,  and  even  occasioned  by 
such  late  meetings.     The  apostolical  injunction,  "  Let 
all  things  be  done  decently  and  in  order,"  sufficiently 
justifies  our  present  practice,  which  others  may  vary 
from,  if  they  choose,  as  is  their  right.     It  should  be 
observed,  however,  that  the  Greek  term  rendered  sup- 
per (B€L7ruov)  may  be  used  for  any  meal,  even  the  first  of 
the  day,  though  perhaps  more  frequently  signifying  the 
principal  meal,  which  was  in  the  afternoon. 


288  THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  SUPPER.     [Lect.  XXXV. 

Some  churches,  Protestant  as  well  as  Papist,  allow 
the  administration  of  the  eucharist  to  sick  and  dying 
persons.  Our  church  has  not  taken  any  formal  order 
on  the  subject,  but  the  general,  though  not  universal, 
sentiment  among  us  is  against  it,  because  very  liable  to 
superstitious  and  rash  abuse.  The  sacrament,  by  its 
very  name  of  communion,  is  a  public  ordinance  intended 
for  the  whole  church,  and  not  for  the  edification  of  the 
individual  believer  except  in  union  with  the  assembled 
church,  nor  can  it  be  partaken  of  privately  without 
diminution  of  its  purpose.  It  were  better,  therefore, 
to  avoid  the  danger ;  and  in  this  opinion  a  conscientious 
Christian  would  coincide,  even  at  the  loss  of  some  per- 
sonal comfort. 


■BE. 


,  (: 


LECTURE    XXXVI. 


THE  LOED'S  SUPPER. 


SECOND  LECTURE. 


vciu  If. 


10 


TWENTY-EIGHTH  AND  TWENTY-NINTH  LORD'S 

DAYS. 


il^ 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 

(continued.) 

Quest.  LXXVIII.  Do,  then,  the  bread  and  wine  become  the  very  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  f  ^ 

Aus.  Not  at  all ;  but  as  the  water  in  baptism  is  not  changed  into  the  blood 
of  Christ,  neither  is  the  washing  away  of  sin  itself,  being  only  the  sign 
and  confirmation  thereof  appointed  of  God,  so  the  bread  in  the  Lord's 
supper  is  not  changed  into  the  very  body  of  Christ,  though,  agreeable 
to  the  nature  and  properties  of  sacraments,  it  is  called  the  body  of 
Christ  Jesus. 

Quest.  LXXIX.  Why,  then,  doth  Christ  call  the  bread  his  body,  and  the  cup 
his  blood,  or,  the  New  Testament  in  his  blood;  and  Paul,  the  "  communion 
of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  "  f 

Ans.  Christ  speaks  thus  not  without  great  reason,  namely,  not  only  to 
teach  us,  that,  as  bread  and  wine  support  this  temporal  life,  so  his  cru- 
cified body  and  shed  blood  are  the  true  meat  and  drink  whereby  our 
souls  are  fed  to  eternal  life;  but,  more  especially,  by  these  visible  signs 
*nd  pledges,  to  assure  us,  that  we  are  as  really  partakers  of  his  true 
body  and  blood  (by  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost),  as  we  receive 
by  the  mouths  of  our  bodies  these  holy  signs  in  remembrance  of  him; 
and  that  all  his  sufferings  and  obedience  are  as  certainly  ours,  as  if  we 
had  in  our  own  persons  suffered  and  made  satisfaction  to  God. 

T^HIRDLY :    The  purpose  of  the  sacrament  of  the 
"*"   supper. 

The  solemn  and  affecting  circumstances  of  its  insti- 
tution by  our  blessed  Lord,  the  peculiar  stress  laid  upon 
its  observance  by  the  apostolical  command,  the  great 
prominence  it  has,  and  has  always  had,  in  the  religious 
services  of  the  church,  the  comfort  derived  from  par- 
taking of  it  by  believers  of  all  ages,  and  the  regard  in 
which  it  is  universally  held  as  the  most  awful  ceremony 


i 


292 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


[Lect.  XXXVI. 


and  auf^ust  spectacle  Christianity  offers  to  the  contem- 
plation of  both  Christians  and  the  world,  all  teach  us 
the  high  importance  of  rightly  understanding  its  de- 
sign and  purport,  to  both  of  which,  as  comprehended 
by  one  word,  our  thoughts  must  now  be  directed. 

From  the  several  considerations  we  have  already 
had  on  the  subject,  we  learn  that,  while  the  sacrament 
of  the  supper  is  an  ordinance  by  which  God  in  salva- 
tion addresses  us,  it  is  also  an  ordinance  in  the  comple- 
tion of  which  we  are  to  take  an  active  part.  Hence, 
the  purpose  of  the  sacrament  is  to  be  looked  for  in 
two  directions :  first,  as  to  what  God  intends  by  this 
sacrament  to  do  for  us ;  and,  secondly,  as  to  what  he, 
by  this  sacrament,  requires  us  to  do  for  ourselves  and 

for  him. 

1.  What  God  purposes  by  this  sacrament  to  do  for 
his  people.     (75th  Question  and  Answer.) 

a.  To  put  us  and  keep  us  in  remembrance  of  Christ's 
love  tow»r4s  us,  especially  as  it  is  manifested  by  his 
death  on  the  cross  for  our  redemption. 

When  our  blessed  Lord,  at  the  institution  of  the 
supper,  uttered  the  gracious,  mandatory  words,  "  This 
do  in  remembrance  of  me  "  (Luke  xxii.  19),  it  was  in 
(siDse  connection  with  his  other  declarations,  "  This  is 
WW'  body  which  is  given  [broken  the  apostle  has  it] 
for  you,"  and,  "  This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  my 
-  blood,  which  is  shed  for  you."  So  the  apostle :  "  As 
often  as  ye  eat  this  bread  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do 
show  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come."  It  is  essential  to 
our  Christian  faith  that  we  recognize  the  doctrines  of 
Christ's  person,  as  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God  incar- 
nate, as  our  brother-man,  and,  also,  that  we  consider 
that  the  vicarious  work  of  Christ,  through  the  merits 


Lkct.  XXXVLJ  the  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


293 


of  which  we  are  saved,  covered  his  whole  life  on  earth  ; 
yet  our  redemption    was   not   accomplished   until   he 
actually  died  on  the  cross.    The  shedding  of  his  blood, 
the  going  out  of  his  precious  life  there,  was  the  act 
which  gave  value  and  consecration  and  acceptance  to 
all  that  he  had  done  and  suffered  before.     That,  as  the 
writer  of  tlie  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  tells  us,  was  "  the 
blood  of  the  covenant  wherewith  he  was  sanctified  " 
(x.  29),  and  by  virtue  of  which  satisfying  the  law  in 
room  of  our  death,  he  rose  from  the  dead  (xiii.  20). 
Hence,  "  the  death  of  Christ,"  "  the  blood  of  Christ," 
"  the  cross  of  Christ,"  each  is  used  in  Scripture  as 
synonymous  with  the  whole  work  of  Christ  on  earth 
for  our  salvation  ;  and,  therefore,  as  our  church  says  in 
her  form  for  this  sacrament,  "  we  see  that "  our  Lord 
"  directs  our  faith  and  trust  to  his  perfect  sacrifice,  once 
offered  on  the  cross,  as  to  the  only  ground  and  founda- 
tion of  our  salvation."     The  whole  action  and  admin- 
istration of  the  sacrament,  the  exhibition  of  the  ele- 
ments,^ the  breaking  of  the  bread  and  the  extension  of 
the   wine,  prove   the   same   thing.      Whatever   other 
thoughts,  edifying  and  comforting  and  hortatory  to  a 
Christian   life,  we  may  have  in  our  minds,  the  main 
thought,  and  that  which  gives  validity  and  meaning  to 
all,  is  a  faithful  remembrance  of  Christ's  death  on  ^'the 
cross  ;  and  the  sacrament  is  perverted  and  abused  from 
its  purpose  when  the  death  of  Christ  on  the  cross  is 
not  made  the  special  theme  of  our  meditations  and 
object  of  our  faith.     Not  to  use  the  sacrament  for  this 
its  ordained  end,  is  a  crime  against  its  authority,  which 
cannot  be  too  heavily  censured. 

^  Our  blessed  Lord,  mercifully  mindful  of  our  infirmi- 
ties, our  temptations  within  and  without,  our  liableness 


t 


S| 


It!  I 


i: 


K 


294 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


[Lect.  XXXVI. 


to  err,  especially  in  self-righteousness  and  the  pride  of 
a  carnal  ingenuity,  which  substitute  other  grounds  for 
mar  salvation,  appointed  this  sacrament  to  remind  us 
con  till  cmlly  of  his  death  on  the  cross  as  our  only  hope. 
However  at  other  times  we  may  forget  his  love  and 
gracious  authority  in  the  cares  or  pleasures  of  the  world 
and  the  flesh,  the  sacrament,  which  exhibits  Christ's 
devoted  love  by  lifting  him  up  on  his  cross,  as  it  were, 
before  our  very  eyes,  rebukes  our  ingratitude,  and  gen- 
isronsly  persuades  us  to  live  only  for  him.  However  at 
other  times  we  may  have  listened  to  the  voice  of  the 
tempter,  teaching  any  other  way  of  salvation,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  than  the  expiation  of  Christ's  blood,  the  sac- 
rament, by  its  simple  and  direct  preaching,  brings  us 
back,  humbled  and  thankful,  to  the  foot  of  the  cross. 
However  we  may  have  suffered  from  the  sophisms  of  a 
base  expediency,  the  doctrines  of  the  cross  to  be  for  a 
time  ignored  and  thrust  on  one  side  to  give  place  to 
some  man-invented  scheme  for  carrying  on  the  work  of 
the  Lord  in  the  conquest  of  the  evil  that  is  in  the 
world,  the  sacrament,  by  making  the  gospel  of  Christ's 
death  "  the  wisdom  of  God,"  and  "  the  power  of  God  " 
••mito  salvation,"  rebukes  our  miserable  policy  as  sin 
against  the  very  essence  of  Christianity,  and  refutes  it 
as  folly  in  the  light  of  God's  omniscience.  In  a  word, 
tiw  sacrament,  rightly  administered  and  received,  is  a 
fill  though  brief  compend  of  all  the  religion  which 
Christianity  teaches  and  enjoins ;  the  most  eloquent 
enunciation  which  God  has  given  of  what  we  are  to 
believe  and  trust  in  and  do,  as  his  servants  and  children, 
through  Christ ;  and  the  most  clear,  palpable  refutation 
of  all  error  in  doctrine  and  practice,  which  the  subtlety 
of  the  devil  and  the  pride  of  human  reason  have  en- 


iECT.  XXXVL]  THE  LORD'S   SUPPER. 


295 


deavored   to   foist   upon   the  gospel  of   God,  and  the 
church  of  his  anointed. 

To  this  end,  the  peculiar  action,  or,  if  I  may  be 
allowed  the  expression,  the  scenic  aiTangement  of  the 
sacrament,  were  devised  by  the  holy,  merciful  wisdom 
of  God.      The  divine  Creator,  in  none  of  his  dealings 
with  the  church,  overlooks  the  fact  of  man's  double 
nature,  corporeal  as  well  as  spiritual.     The  very  incar- 
nation of  our  Lord  has  a  reference  to  this ;  and  our 
adoption  into  the  family  of  God,  as  human  sinners  saved 
by  grace,  is  not  complete  until  we  shall  at  the  last  day 
be  received,  body  and  soul,  into  the  kingdom  on  high, 
where  Jesus,  the  incarnate  Son  of  God,  has  for  us 
entered,  as  the  assurance  that  his  people  shall  all  be 
received  there  and  be  made  like  to  him,  —  not  only  their 
minds  and  hearts  like  him  in  holy  wisdom  and  love,  but 
their  bodies  also  transfigured  into  a  likeness  of  his  most 
glorious  body.     There  we  shall  see  him,  hear  him,  sing 
to  him,  serve  him,  not  only  as  we  now  perceive  him  by 
spiritual  apprehension,  but  really  with  the  senses  and 
faculties  of  our  bodies ;  yes,  as  really  as  the  disciples, 
enjoying  his  presence  on  earth,   heard  his   articulate 
voice,  saw  and  looked  upon  his  mortal  person,  and 
handled  his  palpable  fonn ;  though  with  incomparably 
greater  recognition  of  his  gracious,  adorable  beauty  and 
majesty  and  love,  as  he  sits  upon  the  throne  of  his 
Father,   equal   with   God,  beaming   forth   a  brother's 
sympathy  with  our  joy  in  him,  even  as  when,  in  our 
sorrows,  he  revealed  his  sympathy  with  our  needs. 

The  weakness  of  our  minds,  and  the  disorder  of  our 
bodies,  in  consequence  of  sin,  expose  us  to  much  temp- 
tation from  our  lower  nature,  so  that  Paul  complained 
of  his  incorporated  state  as  a  bondage  and  captivity, 


» 


1 1 


296 


THE  LORD^S  SUPPER. 


[Li  ct.  XXXVI. 


crying  out  in  his  distress :  "  O  wretched  man  that  I 
am  !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?  " 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  our  corporeal  faculties  are  of 
great  use  to  us  here  in  exciting,  assisting,  and  obeying 
the  Christian  purposes  of  our  souls.  God,  therefore, 
even  while  stripping  from  the  simple  truth  the  various 
visible,  or,  as  the  apostle  calls  them,  "  carnal  ordi- 
nances "  of  the  Levitical  ritual,  did  not  overlook  the 
relation  of  the  soul  to  the  bodily  senses,  but  ordained 
ihf  visible  sacraments,  in  each  of  which  the  spiritual 
thought  is  represented  by  a  lively  figure :  in  baptism, 
the  cleansing  of  Christ's  blood  by  the  application  of 
water ;  in  the  Lord's  supper,  the  death  of  Christ  in 
broken  bread  and  poured-out  wine  ;  and  his  doctrine, 
the  spiritual  food  of  the  Christian,  by  the  eating  of  the 
bread  and  the  drinking  of  the  wine. 

As  was  said  before  (twenty-fifth  Lord's  Day),  these 
palpable  ordinances  are  very  simple  and  few,  to  prevent 
our  being  led  into  formality  and  superstition ;  but,  at 
the  same  time,  they  are  most  eloquently  expressed. 
Thus,  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  supper  in  a  right 
manner  and  in  a  right  spirit,  that  is,  when  we  "  discern 
the  Lord's  body  "  as  represented  by  the  elements,  has 
always  been  found  to  be  a  great  strengthener  of  our 
faith  and  incitement  of  our  zeal.  It  brings  us  into  the 
very  presence  of  Christ,  around  his  table,  and  among 
his  brethren,  to  receive  the  grace  he  has  promised  to 
bestow.  We  behold  him  crucified  before  our  eyes,  and 
know  that  we  derive  our  life  and  the  joy  of  life  from 
the  offering  of  his  body  and  the  shedding  of  his  blood. 
We  feel  that  we  are  one  with  him  and  one  with  each 
member  of  "  his  church,  which  is  his  body,  the  fulness 
of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all  "  ;  and,  looking  forward  to 


Lect.XXXVL]  the  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


297 


the  blessed  day  when  he,  who  was  crucified  and  rose 
from  the  dead,  shall  come  again  to  receive  his  people 
where  he  is  in  glory,  we  anticipate  the  blessed,  consum- 
mate joy  of  sitting  down  with  the  church  of  all  ages  at 
the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb  in  the  upper  sanctu- 
ary, amidst  the  holy  perfections  of  the  eternal  Sabbath. 
Any  attempt  to  add  anything  to  the  simplicity  of  the 
rite  as  Christ  ordained  it,  is  not  only  to  impair  its  valid- 
ity, and  dishonor  the  wisdom  of  its  institutor,  but  also 
to  degrade  and  pervert  it.  If  we  are  not  edified  by  the 
rite  as  our  Lord  ordained  it,  no  invention  of  man  can 
improve  it  for  us. 

h.  Again ;  it  was  the  wise  purpose  of  Christ  to  estab- 
lish on  earth  a  visible  church  which  should  be  the  out- 
ward form  of  his  spiritual  church.  As  he  exhibited  his 
power,  his  wisdom,  his  holy  virtue,  and  compassionate 
grace  before  the  world  in  his  mortal  life,  so  it  is  his  will 
that  his  ])eople  should  openly  follow  his  blessed  exam- 
ple, declaring  his  truth  as  their  trust,  and  vindicating 
the  divine  energy  of  his  saving  grace  by  their  Christ- 
like lives.  For  this  end  it  was  necessary  that  those 
who  profess  his  religion  should  be  visibly  separated  from 
the  world,  and,  by  appropriate,  significant,  public  ser- 
vices, declare  the  doctrines  and  obligations  of  their 
faith.  Hence  baptism,  or  the  washing  away  of  sin,  is 
the  entrance  of  the  sinner  to  the  church ;  and  the  par- 
ticipation of  the  Lord's  supper,  by  the  assembled  church, 
is  their  avowal  of  themselves  as  his  family,  and  their 
exhibition  to  the  world  of  the  gospel  of  the  cross  as  the 
only  hope  of  their  salvation,  and  the  only  nutriment  of 
their  spiritual  life.  It  is  a  frequent  repetition,  and  with 
greater  fulness,  of  the  confession  they  made  in  baptism 
before  the  church  and  the  world.     Hence  the  use  of  the 


i 


298 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


[Lect.  XXXVI 


Lord's  supper  is  not  for  the  communicant's  own  per- 
sonal benefit  only,  though  that  is  largely  found  in  the 
service,  but  for  the  benefit  of  the  church,  in  the  assur- 
ance of  his  fellowship  with  all  her  members,  and  for  the 
benefit  of  the  world,  in  liis  testimony  from  experience 
rf  the  grace  of  Christ  and  the  truth  of  the  gospel. 
Gcjd,  therefore,  by  the  sacrament  means  to  give  us  the 
great  advantage  of  Christian  fellowship,  the  honor  of 
being  witnesses  for  him  before  the  world,  the  dignity 
and  reward  of  being  fellow-workers  with  Christ  in  the 
accomplishment  of  his  merciful  dominion  over  the 
wliole  earth. 

C  God  purposes,  by  this  sacrament,  to  remind  us  of 
Ills  gracious  willingness  to  maintain  and  support  our 
Christian  life  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  through 
the  truths  therein  signified.  As  the  disciple  says  in  the 
Catechism  :  "  He  feeds  and  nourishes  my  soul  to  ever- 
lasting life  with  his  crucified  body  and  shed  blood,  as 
assuredly  as  I  receive  from  the  hands  of  the  minister, 
and  taste  with  my  mouth,  the  bread  and  cup  of  the 
Lord  as  certain  signs  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ." 

So  in  the  19th  Question  and  Answer :  "  Christ 
speaks  thus  [i.  e,  calls  the  bread  his  body  and  the  cup 
his  blood]  not  without  great  reason,  namely  ....  to 
teach  us,  that,  as  bread  and  wine  support  this  temporal 
life,  so  his  crucified  body  and  shed  blood  are  the  true 
meat  and  drink  whereby  our  souls  are  fed  to  eternal  life." 

Our  blessed  Lord,  after  his  miracle  of  feeding  the 
multitude  with  five  barley  loaves  and  two  small  fishes, 
as  a  parable  of  his  power  and  willingness  to  meet  the 
wants  of  all  those  who  trust  in  him,  was  followed  by 
many  people  anxious  to  share  the  benefits,  not  of  his 
teaching,  but  of  his  temporal  bounty ;  to  whom  he  said : 


Lect.  XXXVL]  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


299 


"  Labor  not  for  the  meat  which  perisheth,  but  for  that 
meat  which  endureth  unto  everlasting  life,  which  the 
Son  of  man  shall  give  unto  you."     A  little  afterwards 
he  says :  "  I  am  the  bread  of  life  ;  he  that  cometh  unto 
me  shall  never  hunger,  and  he  that  believeth  on  me 
shall  never  thirst."    From  this  it  is  plain  that  he  speaks 
of  his  truth,  or  his  doctrine,  as  the  true  bread  of  the 
Christian  life,  which  endureth  forever ;  and,  also,  that 
the  manner  of  partaking  of  that  spiritual  food  is  by 
going  unto  him  and  believing  on  him,  for  personal  faith 
in  Christ  is  the  only  way  by  which  we  can  receive 
sanctifying  grace  unto  our  souls.     He  is,  however,  yet 
more  particular,  for  he  again  adds :  "  I  am  the  living 
[spiritual   or  eternal]  bread,  which  came  down  from 
heaven  ;  if  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live 
forever ;  and  the  bread   that  I  will  give  is  my  flesh, 
which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world."     The 
Jews  were  astonished  at  this,  and,  supposing  that  his 
language  was  to  be  taken  literally,  asked  wonderingly, 
"  How  can  this  man  give  us  his  flesh  to  eat  ?  "  "to 
which  he  answered  (as  he  did  to  Nicodemus  when  'he 
asked,  "  How  can  a  man  be  born  when  he  is  old  ?  Can 
he  enter  the  second  time  into  his  mother's  womb  and 
be  born  ?  ")  by  repeating  the  assertion  more  strongly : 
"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  eat  the  flesh 
of  the  Son  of  man  and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no  life 
in  you.    Whoso  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  mv  blood, 
hath  eternal  life,  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last 
day.     For  my  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  my  blood  is 
drink  indeed.     He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh 
my  blood,  dwelleth  in  me,  and  I  in  him.     As  the  liv- 
ing Father  hath  sent  me,  and  I  live  by  the  Father,  so 
he  that  eateth  me  shall  live  by  me."     The  disciples 


doo 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER.  [Lkct.  XXXVI. 


tlemselves  secretly  murmured  at  this,  and  said,  "  This 
is  a  hard  saying ;  who  can  hear  [or  receive]  it  ?  "  To 
which  the  Master  repHed :  "  Doth  this  oft'end  you  ? 
What  and  if  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  ascend  up 
where  he  was  before  ?  It  Is  the  Spirit  that  quicken- 
eth ;  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing ;  the  words  that  I 
speak  unto  you,  they  are  spirit  and  they  are  life." 
From  all  which  it  is  evident,  that  it  is  especially  the 
doctrine  of  his  passion  and  death  for  us  which  is  the 
food  and  drink  of  the  Christian  soul,  assuring  him  of 
his  oneness  with  Christ  and  of  the  resurrection  of  his 
body  at  the  last  day  to  enjoy  the  life  and  immortality 
which  are  brought  to  light  by  the  gospel ;  and,  also, 
that  this  benefit  is  confirmed  unto  us  by  no  carnal  par- 
ticipation of  mere  material  elements  signifying  Christ's 
hoiy  and  blood,  for  "  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing,"  and 
"  it  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth "  ;  but  that  "  the 
words,"  or  the  truths  which  he  speaks  concerning  his 
incarnation  and  death  for  us,  when  received  into  our 
Mills  by  an  intelligent,  appropriating  faith,  become  our 
true  meat  and  drink  of  life  eternal. 

The  parallel  between  these  passages  in  the  sixth  chap- 
ter of  John  and  those  giving  the  institution  of  the  sup- 
per, is  so  obvious  that  we  believe  none  deny  it ;  and,  if 
so,  our  Lord's  commentary  on  his  own  words  in  the 
one  case  serves  equally  well  for  the  other.  Our  church, 
from  this,  rightly  infers,  that  the  sacrament  signifies, 
by  the  elements  and  our  participation  of  them,  our 
spiritual  nourishment,  or  the  religious  life  of  our  souls 
received  by  faith  in  the  spiritual  doctrines,  which  are 
thereby  set  forth  and  illustrated.  We,  therefore,  deny 
and  reject  the  abominable  heresy  of  the  Papists,  who 
insist  that  our  Lord's  words  must  be  taken  literally, 


I 


Lkct.  XXXVL] 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


301 


and  that  the  bread  actually  becomes  the  body  of  our 
Lord  and  the  wine  his  blood ;  for,  says  the  Catechism 
(78th  Question  and  Answer)  :  "As  the  water  in  bap- 
tism is  not  changed  into  the  blood  of  Christ,  neither  is 
the  washing  away  of  sin  itself,  being  only  the  sign  and 
confirmation  thereof  appointed  of  God  ;  so  the  bread 
in  the  Lord's  supper  is  not  changed  into  the  very  body 
of  Christ,  though,  agreeably  to  the  nature  and  proper- 
ties of  sacraments,  it  is  called  the  body  of  Christ  Jesus." 
Even  if  the  abhorrent  idea  were  true  and  the  bread  and 
wine  were  so  changed,  our  eating  and  drinking  of  them 
could  not,  our  Lord  being  witness,  profit  us  anything. 
"  The  flesh  profiteth  nothing,"  he  himself  says  in  ref- 
erence to  his  own  assertion  of  the  bread  and  the  wine 
being  his  body  and  blood ;  "  the  words  that  I  speak  unto 
you,  they  are  spirit  and  they  are  life  " ;  which  is  equiv- 
alent to  what  he  said  before  :  "  I  am  the  bread  of  life  ; 
he  that  cometh  unto  me  shall  never  hunger ;  and  he 
that  believeth  on  me  shall  never  thirst." 

But  on  this  point  we  shall  be  required  to  dwell  with 
greater  particularity,  when  we  come  to  consider  what 
our  church  teaches  in  the  80th  Question  and  Answer 
of  the  Catechism. 

Now  let  us  learn  of  God  by  this  sacrament,  that  not 
only  at  the  beginning  of  our  Christian  life  we  are 
brought  into  his  kingdom  by  faith  in  the  blood  of 
Christ  for  the  remission  of  our  sins  (which  is  shown  in 
baptism),  but  that  we  continually  need  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  through  the  truth  to  maintain  in  our  hearts 
the  principles,  and  in  our  lives  the  practice,  of  the  holy 
religion  which  we  profess.  As  the  Israelites  were  fed 
in  the  wilderness  by  manna  from  heaven,  and  drank  the 
water  from  the  rock,  and  only  in  the  strength  they 


802 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


[Lect.  XXXVI. 


derived  from  that  bread  and  water  they  were  able  to 
continue  their  pilgrimage  to  the  promised  land,  so  the 
Christian  draws  all  his  ability  to  follow  Christ,  "  walk- 
ing as  he  also  walked,"  to  heaven,  from  the  doctrines 
oC  Christ's  incarnation  and  death. 

So,  also,  is  this  sacrament  often  repeated  to  remind 
us  at  once  of  our  continual  need  and  his  continual  will- 
ingness to  supply  our  wants.  We  are  to  go  in  the 
strength  of  one  Lord's  supper  unto  another,  and  so 
**from  strength  unto  strength,"  until  we  "appear  be- 
fore God  in  Zion,"  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  This  is 
the  meaning  of  the  apostle  when  he  says,  "  Ye  do 
show  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come  ;  "  for  until  he 
comes  and  takes  them  unto  himself  in  glory,  his  follow- 
eiS  will  need  the  nourishment  of  soul,  which  can  be 
drawn  only  from  faith  in  his  body  broken  and  his 
blood  shed  for  us,  the  warrant  and  assurance  of  our 
eternal  redemption. 

Nor  is  it  only  while  we  are  at  the  Lord's  table  that 
such  blessing  is  extended  and  received.  We  are  to 
keep  the  feast  "in  remembrance  of  him."  The  cele- 
bration is  to  prevent  our  forgetting  him,  to  quicken  our 
thoughts  of  him,  and  so  to  pervade  our  minds  at  all 
times  with  those  blessed  doctrines  in  whose  strength 
we  go  forward.  It  were  strange  perversion  of  the 
sacrament  to  allow  ourselves  in  the  ungodly  thought, 
that,  because  we  are  to  remember  Christ's  death  in  the 
celebration,  we  may  cease  to  remember  it  during  the 
intervals  of  its  occurrence.  No,  believers,  the  Chris- 
tian should  be  conscious  of  a  continual  crucifixion  of 
Christ,  a  continual  feeding  on  his  precious  body  and 
blood,  a  continual  strength  derived  by  faith  from  his 
gracious  work  and  promises.     We  should  "  desire  to 


Lect.  XXXVL]  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


303 


know  nothing  else   save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  cru- 
cified." 

cZ.  There  is  another  doctrine  which  God  in  the 
Lord's  supper  proposes  for  the  confirmation  of  our 
trust  in  him  :  The  incorporation  of  the  believer  with 
the  body  of  Christ. 

Tins  the  Catechism  asserts  and  explains  in  the  76th 
Question  and  Answer :   where  we  learn  that  "  to  eat 
the  crucified  body  and  drink  the  shed  blood  of  Christ " 
is  .  .  .  "to  become  more  and  more  united  to  his  sacred 
body  by  the  Holy  Ghost,"  who  dwells  both  in  Christ 
and  in  us ;  so  that  we,  though  Christ  is  in  heaven  and 
we  on  earth,  are,  notwithstanding,  "  flesh  of  his  flesh 
and  bone  of  his  bone  " ;  and  that  "  we  live  and  are  gov- 
erned forever  by  one  Spirit,  as  members  of  the  same 
body  are  by  one  soul.''     Again,  in  the  79th  Question 
and  Answer:  "  Christ  speaks  thus,  [i,  e,  calls  the  bread 
his  body  and  the  cup  his  blood,]  .  .  .  more  especially 
by  these  visible  signs  and  pledges,  to  assure  us  that  we 
are  as  really  partakers  of  his  true  body  and  blood  (by 
the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost)  as  we  receive  by  the 
mouths  of  our  bodies  these  holy  signs  in  remembrance 
of  him,  and  that  all  his  sufferings  and  obedience  are 
as  certainly  ours  as  if  we  had  in  our  own  persons  suf- 
fered and  made  satisfaction  for  our  sins  to  God." 

When  our  blessed  Lord  assumed  our  human  nature, 
he  condescended  to  represent  in  his  sacred  person  all 
true  believers,  even  his  church  which  he  redeemed  by 
his  most  precious  blood.  As  the  great  sacrifice  of 
atonement,  under  the  Levitical  law,  was  substituted  for 
the  people,  whose  sins  were  laid  on  its  head,  so,  bear- 
ing our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  he  repre- 
sented us  in  the  expiation.     The  typical  victim  perished 


304 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


[Lect.  XXXVI. 


wholly,  because  it  could  not  take  away  sin  ;  but  our 
Redeemer  rose  again  from  the  dead,  because  his  death 
was  a  complete  satisfaction  of  the  law  for  his  people, 
and  his  mediatorial  person,  with  its  entire  humanity, 
body  and  soul,  entered  heaven,  as  our  forerunner,  and 
sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  In  the  Lord's 
supper  we  show  forth  his  death,  and  the  elements  sym- 
bolize to  us  his  crucified  body  and  shed  blood.  But 
we  "shQW  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come."  While, 
therefore,  we  remember  a  crucified  Saviour,  we  declare 
©ur  trust  in  a  living  Saviour,  who  rose  from  the  grave 
to  complete  oui*  redemption  by  his  intercession,  author- 
ity, and  grace ;  as  the  apostle  says :  "If,  when  we  were 
enemies,  we  were  receiiciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his 
Son,  much  more,  being  reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved  by 
his  life."  The  representation  of  his  people  is  as  true 
and  perfect  in  his  resurrection  and  glory  as  it  was  in 
his  death  and  shame.  The  sacrament  shows  him  to  us 
IB  both  aspects,  that  is  to  say,  in  his  sacrifice  for  our 
sins,  and  in  his  glory  as  our  head. 

The  feast  of  the  Paschal  Lamb  commemorated  the 
complete  deliverance  of  Israel  from  Egypt,  therefore 
all  Israel  were  permitted  and  enjoined  to  partake  of 
the  flesh,  which  was  forbidden  to  them  in  the  case  of 
the  sacrifices  of  imperfect  expiation.  They  were  com- 
manded to  eat  of  the  Paschal  Lamb,  because  they  shared 
in  the  salvation  it  commemorated ;  they  were  forbidden 
to  eat  of  the  other  victims,  because  their  sins  were  yet 
in  the  flesh  of  them.  The  true  passover  having  been 
sacrificed  for  us,  no  victim  of  blood  could  afterward  be 
offered,  so  our  Lord  substituted  bread  as  the  emblem  of 
his  body ;  and  as  we  live  by  his  doctrine,  through  the 
grace  of  our  reigning  Intercessor,  so  the  bread,  which 


Lkct.  XXXVI.]  the  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


305 


I 


broken  represents  his  expiation  for  us  on  the  cross,  also, 
as  the  emblem  of  nourishment,  represents  our  nourish- 
ment and  strength  unto  eternal  life. 

When,  therefore,  we  partake  of  the  sacramental  em- 
blems, we  make  a  double  profession,  of  union  to  him  in 
his  death,  and  union  to  him  in  his  glorified  life.     Our 
church,  in  her  communion  service,  declares  this :  "  For 
by  his  death  he  hath  taken  away  the  cause  of  our  eter- 
nal death  and  misery,  namely,  sin,  and  obtained  for  us 
the  quickening  Spirit,  that  we,  by  the  same  (which 
dwelleth  in  Christ  as  in  the  head,  and  in  us  as  his 
members),  might  have  true  communion  with  him,  and 
be  made  partakers  of  life  eternal,  righteousness,  and 
glory."     This  intimate  union  with  Christ  is  described 
by  veiy  strong  language  in  the  New  Testament  Scrip- 
tures.    Every  believer  is  a  member  of  Christ's  body, 
and  the  aggregate  church  is  the  body  of  Christ,  he  being 
its  divine  head.      "Now,"  says  the  apostle,  "ye  are 
the  body  of  Christ  and  members  in  particular  " ;  and 
again,  he  is  "  head  over  all  things  to  his  church,  which 
is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all." 
We  become  thus  united  to  him  by  faith  ;  and  every 
one  who  believes  in  him,  that  is,  accepts  and  relies 
upon  his  mediatorial  suretyship,  is  a  member  of  "  his 
body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones." 

Our  eating  and  drinking  of  the  sacramental  emblems 
strikingly  and  naturally  illustrate  this  participation  of 
Christ's  body  and  union  with  it.  We  receive  (as  the 
Catechism  says)  with  the  mouths  of  our  bodies  these 
holy  signs.  They  are  thus  incorporated  with  us; 
Christ  (symbolically)  enters  into  us,  and  makes  us  one 
with  him  :  one  with  him  in  his  sufferings ;  one  with 
him  in  the  glory  which  has  followed  the  sufferings. 


VOL.  U. 


20 


E06 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER.  [Lect.  XXXVi: 


We  partake  of  his  true  body  and  blood,  not  in  a  gross 
or  carnal  sense,  for  it  is  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and,  therefore,  spiritually  through  faith ;  yet  we 
are  by  the  sacrament  assured  that  we  were  actually 
represented  by  his  true  personal  body  on  the  cross,  and 
are  now  represented  by  his  glorified  body  in  heaven. 
As  he,  by  his  vicarious  expiation,  took  away  the  cause 
of  death,  which  was  sin,  and  we  through  him  receive 
pardon,  so  he,  having  been  accepted  for  us  by  the 
Father,  derives  from  the  Father  life  for  his  people, 
men  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  we  live  by 
that  life  which  is  in  him  as  our  head.  So  the  apostle 
Paul :  "  I  through  the  law  am  dead  to  the  law  that 
I  might  live  unto  God.  I  am  crucified  with  Christ, 
nevertheless  I  live ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me  ; 
and  the  life  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by  the  faith 
of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself  for 
me."  Thus  each  believer  becomino:  a  member  of 
Christ,  the  whole  church  is  his  body,  animated  in  all 
its  members  by  the  same  life  which  is  in  him,  the  divine 
head,  even  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 
W©  are,  therefore,  made  certain  that  Christ's  love  and 
care  of  his  church,  and  of  each  particular  member  of  it, 
is  constant,  close,  and  personal.  He  loves  his  church 
as  his  own  body ;  its  safety  and  its  glory  is  identical 
with  his  own.  So  the  apostle :  "  No  man  ever  yet 
hated  his  own  flesh,  but  nourisheth  and  cherisheth  it 
even  as  our  Lord  the  church,  for  we  are  members  of 
his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones*"  The  gracious 
wisdom  of  God  could  go  no  farther  in  asserting  the  full 
salvation  of  all  who,  by  a  true  faith,  are  united  unto 
Christ. 

It  follows  immediately  from  this,  that,  being  united  to 


Lkct.  XXXVI.]  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


307 


Christ,  we  are,  by  the  same  act  of  faith,  united  to  his 
true  church,  which  is  his  body,  and  to  each  of  all  the 
members  of  his  church.     We  have  one  life,  one  hope, 
one   strength,   one   nourishment,   with   them.      Their 
interest  is  our  interest,  their  growth  our  growth ;  our 
interest  their  interest,  our  growth  their  growth.     So 
our  Church, in  her  communion  service:  "  We  by  the 
same  spirit  may  also  be  united  as  members  of  one  body 
in  true  brotherly  love,  as  the  holy  apostle  saith  :  '  For 
we  being  many  are  one  bread  and  one  body ;  for  we 
are  all  partakers  of  that  one  bread.'     For  as  out  of 
many  grains  one  meal  is  ground  and  one. bread  baked, 
and  out  of  many  berries,  being  pressed  together,  one 
wine  floweth  and  mixeth  itself  together,  so  shall  we  all, 
who  by  a  true  faith  are  engrafted  into  Christ,  be  alto- 
gether [all  together]  one  body,  through  brotherly  love, 
for  Christ's  sake,  our  beloved  Saviour,  who  hath  so  ex- 
ceedingly loved  us ;  and  not  only  show  this  in  word, 
but  in  very  deed  towards  one  another."     So  again  the 
apostle:  "  Holding  the  Head, from  which  all  the  body 
by  joints  and  bands  having  nourishment  ministered,  and 
knit  together,  increaseth  with  the  increase  of  God" 
(Coloss.  ii.  19)  ;  and  in  the  parallel  passage  of  the  twin 
epistle :  "  Speaking  the  truth  in  love,  [we  may]  grow 
up  into  him  in  all  things,  which  is  the  head,  even 
Christ :  from  whom  the  whole  body  fitly  joined  together 
and  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  supplieth,  ac- 
cording to  the  effectual  working  in  the  measure  of  every 
part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body  unto  the  edifying  of 
itself  in  love"  (Ephes.  iv.  15,  16). 


:"J' 


LECTURE  XXXVII. 

THE    LORD'S    SUPPEE. 

SECOND  LECTURE. 
(completed.) 


ik 


TWENTY-EIGHTH  AND   TWENTY-NINTH  LORD'S 

DAYS. 


I 


THE  LORD'S   SUPPER. 

SECOND  LECTURE.    {Completed.) 

TTAVING  considered  what  God  proposes  to  do  for 
^■^  liis  people  in  the  Lord's  supper,  we  now  should 
learn 

2.  What  he  requires  us  to  do  for  ourselves  and  for 
him  in  our  use  of  the  sacrament. 

The  highest  glory  of  God  in  Christ  is  the  full  salva- 
tion of  his  people  from  death  and  from  sin.  All  the 
economy  of  grace  is  arranged  and  maintained  for  that 
divine  end.  Hence,  whatever  we  are  enabled  by  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  do  for  our  own  souls,  or 
those  of  our  fellow-sinners,  in  our  use  of  the  sacrament, 
is  done  for  God,  and,  for  the  same  reason,  the  duties 
required  must  correspond  to  the  benefits  intended. 
Tims,  (a,)  we  have  seen  that  the  main  purpose  of  God 
in  the  sacrament  is  to  put  us  and  keep  us  in  remem- 
brance of  Christ's  love  towards  us,  especially  as  it  is 
manifested  by  his  death  on  the  cross  for  our  redemp- 
tion. It  follows,  therefore,  from  the  analogy  of  faith, 
that  a  cordial  apprehension  of  the  love  of  Christ  cru- 
cified will  have  the  strongest  effect  in  awakening  and 
in  increasing  our  love  to  Christ ;  and  as  his  love 
towards  us  moved  him  to  die  for  our  salvation,  so  our 
love  towards  him  will  constrain  us  to  live  for  his  glory. 
No  obedience  that  we  may  attempt  to  render  him  will 


812 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER.         [Lect.  XXXVII. 


be  sincere  or  acceptable,  except  as  it  flows  from  our 
love  to  him,  and,  therefore,  by  the  most  generous  of  all 
arguments,  his  undeserved,  devoted,  self-sacrificing  love 
for  us,  he  would  in  the  sacrament  persuade  us  to  follow 
in  his  steps.  Such  being  the  purpose  of  God,  we  should 
conform  ourselves  to  it,  by  fixing  our  contemplations 
on  Christ  and  his  cross :  on  Christ  as  our  Saviour,  on 
his  cross  as  the  cardinal  means  of  our  redemption.  We 
are  to  contemplate  lis  person  as  the  infinite,  only- 
begotten  Son  of  God,  incarnate,  that,  by  the  sacrifice 
of  his  flesh  and  blood,  he  might  be  our  Redeemer.  We 
are  to  contemplate  him  as  the  Lamb  of  God  bearing 
our  sins,  and  put  to  a  sorrowful,  painful,  shameful 
death,  because  he  undertook  to  answer  and  atone  for 
onf  sins.  We  are  to  contemplate  him  rising  again  from 
the  dead  by  the  will  of  the  Father,  whom  it  pleased 
"to  bruise  him  and  put  him  to  grief,"  because  the  infi- 
nite merits  of  his  expiation  fully  satisfied  the  law  for 
us,  and  entitled  him,  by  virtue  of  the  covenant,  to  his 
stipulated  reward,  even  the  consummate  salvation  of 
all  who  trust  in  his  suretyship.  We  are  to  contemplate 
him  on  the  throne  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  in 
his  once  crucified  but  now  glorified  person,  administer- 
ing the  providence  of  nature  and  of  grace,  for  the  full 
accomplishment  of  all  his  merciful  designs  toward  his 
church  which  is  his  body.  We  are  to  contemplate  his 
coming  to  judge  the  world  at  the  last  day,  to  vindicate 
his  people,  and  to  receive  them  to  himself  in  his  ever- 
lasting glory,  where  our  eternity  shall  be  filled  with  the 
grateful  memory  and  thankful  enjoyment  of  his  un- 
speakable love.  All  this  is  in  the  sacrament  in  which 
we  "  show  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come."  Thus,  as 
we  see  the  great  love  of  him  against  whom  we  have 


Lect.  XXXVII.]  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


313 


/ 


sinned,  our  hearts  will  be  moved  to  the  source  of  a  true 
repentance ;  and  as  we  see  the  greatness  of  the  sacri- 
fice which  alone  could  redeem  us,  we  shall  be  humbled 
from  a  sense  of  our  utter  un  worthiness,  while  we  rely 
with  assured  confidence  on  his  mightiness  to  save ;  and 
as  we  see  the  infinite  power  and  wisdom  he  gives  to 
the  care  of  his  church  and  of  his  glory  on  earth,  we 
shall  be  stirred  up  and  strengthened  to  devote  all  our 
faculties  of  mind  and  heart  and  life  to  the  same  glori- 
ous purpose  ;  and  as  we  gaze  in  faith  and  hope  on  the 
future  revelations  of  eternity,  the  misery  of  the  eter- 
nal hell  from  which  he  redeems  us,  the  holy  raptures 
of  the  eternal  heaven  to  which  he  will  exalt  us,  the 
motives  of  the  world  to  come  will  lift  us  above  the 
attractive  temptations  and  malignant  oppositions  of  the 
present  time,  until,  having  our  conversation  in  heaven, 
our  fellowship  wuth  the  Father  and  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  our  companionship  with  the  innumerable  an- 
gels and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  we  shall 
be  "  more  than  conquerors  "  over  "  the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  devil,"  "  through  him  that  loved  us." 

Whether,  therefore,  we  consider  our  own  salvation, 
or  our  calling  to  advance  the  glory  of  God  in  our  sal- 
vation, it  is  our  main  and  highest  duty,  in  the  use  of  the 
sacrament,  to  remind  ourselves  of  Christ's  love  for  us, 
especially  in  his  death  on  the  cross.  To  this  should  all 
our  thoughts  be  directed,  not  only  as  we  actually  par- 
take of  the  elements,  but  when  we  prepare  for  the 
sacred  festival,  or  go  from  the  blessed  table  to  the  ac- 
tive service  of  a  Christian  life ;  for  only  as  our  minds 
are  full  of  thoughts  of  Christ,  will  our  hearts  be  full  of 
the  love  of  Christ ;  and  only  as  our  hearts  are  full  of 
his  love,  will  our  lives  be  to  his  praise. 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


[Lect.  XXXVII. 


k  God,  by  the  sacraments,  intends  to  mark  the  sep- 
aration of  his  church  from  the  world ;  therefore  is  it 
our  duty,  in  the  sacrament  of  the  supper,  openly  before 
the  world  and  the  church  to  profess  our  faith  in  his 
gospel,  and  to  declare  ourselves  his  disciples,  his  ser- 
vants, and  his  children,  as  we  were  set  apart  to  be  by 
mat  holy  baptism.  Such  an  open  confession  of  his 
authority  and  profession  of  his  service  is  due  to  God. 
The  testimony  and  obedience  of  his  people  is  the 
method  by  which  he  receives  glory  on  earth.  As, 
when  our  Lord  was  proclaiming  his  gospel,  he  proved 
his  divine  mission  by  miracles,  healing  the  effects  of 
sin  on  the  bodies  of  men,  so,  now  that  he  is  in  heaven, 
he  demonstrates  the  grace  of  his  Holy  Spirit  through 
the  gospel,  by  its  transforming  influence  on  character 
md  life*  If,  from  our  personal  experience,  we  know 
that  there  is  a  vital  power  in  Christianity  to  supply  the 
motives  and  strength  of  a  better  virtue  than  we  could 
learn  or  maintain  from  any  other  source,  the  credit 
should  be  given  where  it  belongs ;  and,  even  though 
from  our  sinful  weakness  we  come  far  short  of  a  proper 
Christian  example,  we  should  give  our  devout  approval 
of  the  principles  which  the  gospel  asserts  and  the  prac- 
tice it  enjoins.  The  world  is  full  of  God's  enemies, 
who  deny  the  reality  of  religion,  and  revile  its  doctrines 
with  its  morals ;  his  friends,  therefore,  should  not  con- 
ceal themselves,  but  come  out  honestly  and  resolutely 
on  his  side.  Hence  he  declares  such  a  confession  of 
faith  to  be  necessary  on  our  part :  "  If  thou  shalt  con- 
fess with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  believe  in  thy 
heart  that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou 
shalt  be  saved ;  for  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto 
righteousness,  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made 


Lkct.XXXVII.J  the  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


315 


A 


unto  salvation."     The  confession  is  vain  and  hypocriti- 
cal, if  there  be  not  faith  in  the  heart ;  but  if  the  faith 
be  in  the  heart,  there  will  be  an  open  confession  that 
God  may  be  glorified.     "  For  it  is  written,  whosoever 
believeth  on  him  shall  not  be  ashamed,"  or  "put  to 
flight."  True  faith  will  never  be  deterred  by  fear  of  the 
worid  from  avowing  itself.    So  our  Lord  :  "  Whosoever 
shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and  of  my  words  [doctrines], 
of  him  shall  the  Son  of  man  be  ashamed,  when  he  sha  1 
come  in  his  own  glory,  and  in  the  glory  of  his  Father 
and  of  the  holy  angels;"   and  again:   "Whosoever 
shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  shall  the  Son  of  man 
confess  before  the  angels  of  God ;  and  he  that  denieth 
me  before  men,  shall  be  denied  before  the  angels  of 
God."     How  can  they  who  will  not  avow  Christ  be- 
fore his  enemies  hope  to  be  honored  by  him  before  his 
friends  ? 

It  is,  also,  the  uniform  method  of  God  in  Christ  to 
employ  the  agency  of  believers,  individually  and  collec- 
tively, for  the  advancement  of  his  religion.  Hence  they 
are  called,  as  we  have  seen,  his  "witnesses,"  his  "fel- 
low-workers," his  "  soldiers";  and  the  church  is  a  dis- 
ciplined "  host,"  or  an  "  army  with  banners,"  of  which 
he  is  "  the  captain."  It  is,  then,  necessary  that  they 
should  be  known,  not  only  to  him  who  reads  the  heart, 
but  to  their  fellow-Christians  and  to  the  worid.  There 
is  a  great  work  to  be  done,  and  a  great  fight  to  be 
maintained  ;  therefore  should  they  avow  their  mutual 
sympathy,  be  ready  to  unite  in  their  efforts,  and  to- 
gether present  themselves  to  the  eyes  of  men.  Besides, 
a  man  who  conceals  his  sentiments  and  purposes  is 
never  true  to  them.  The  secret  man  must  disguise 
himself,    but   the   honest   man    is   frank   and   candid. 


316 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER.         [Lect.  XXXVH. 


When  we  hide  our  religion  from  others,  we  cannot  act 
it  out,  but  will  waver  and  deny  it,  as  did  Peter  in  the 
high  priest's  house.  When  we  fairly  take  our  stand, 
our  very  self-respect  and  consistency  will  go  far,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  to  make  us  firm  and  zealous.  Hence 
our  Lord  says :  "  If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let 
him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me." 
We  should  be  as  plainly  known  to  be  Christ's  disciples, 
as  thoush  the  cross  were  on  our  shoulders  and  we 
were  following  the  Master's  living  person.  The  early 
church  disowned  as  recusants  all  who  did  not  avow 
themselves  to  be  Christians,  though  in  the  face  of  per- 
secutions, tortures,  and  death.  Then  the  confessor  of 
Chrkt  was  second  in  rank  to  the  martyr;  and  there 
IS  the  same  reason  for  our  open  confession  now.  He 
must  be  conscious  of  cowardice  who  is,  notwithstand- 
ing his  convictions,  hidden  among  the  crowd  of  Christ's 
enemies :  he  will  prove  himself  faithless  when  he  is 
tried. 

Therefore  should  we  regard  the  sacrament  as  an 
ordained  means,  the  principal  ordained  opportunity,  of 
avowing  ourselves  Christians,  to  our  fellow-Christians 
and  to  the  world.  In  taking  our  places  among  the  com- 
municants, we  should  take  our  places  among  Christ's 
friends,  followers,  servants,  witnesses,  and  soldiers,  ready 
to  join  his  people  in  every  good  work  for  his  glory,  the 
advancement  of  his  church,  and  the  salvation  of  sinners. 
We  there  put  our  hand  to  the  plough  not  to  look  back. 
We  assume  our  stand  to  be  "steadfast,  unmovable, 
always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord." 

<?.  The  work  before  us  is  arduous,  our  weakness  is 
extreme,  our  temptations  are  great,  and  we  are  to  grow 
from  the  littleness  of  "  new-born  babes  "  to  the  "  full 


Lect.  XXXVIL]         THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


317 


stature  "  of  adults  in  Christ  Jesus.  Hence,  God  in  the 
sacrament  assures  us  of  his  divine  strength,  by  the  grace 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  through  the  doctrines  of  the  cross. 
This  is  the  significance  of  the  bread  and  the  wine. 
Christ  is  the  life  of  the  believer,  not  only  in  giving  him 
life  by  his  vicarious  death,  but  in  maintaining  his  Chris- 
tian life  by  the  truth.  It  is,  as  we  have  seen,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  cross  which  is  the  main  support  of  our 
faith  and  zeal.  "  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son 
of  man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you. 
Whoso  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood,  hath 
eternal  life ;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day. 
For  my  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  my  blood  is  drink 
indeed."  So  our  Lord  compares  himself,  or  the  doc- 
trine of  his  person  and  his  passion,  to  the  manna  of  the 
wilderness.  As  the  Israelites  drank  of  the  water  from 
the  rock,  and  ate  of  the  bread  from  heaven,  living  in 
the  strength  derived  from  them  until  they  reached  the 
promised  land,  so  only  from  his  doctrines  can  we  de- 
rive by  faith  the  vigor  and  growth  of  our  piety  until 
the  end,  in  heaven. 

We  should,  therefore,  go  to  the  holy  table,  as  to  a 
supply  of  spiritual  food  and  drink,  to  restore  our  faint- 
ing powers,  to  cheer  our  trembling  hearts,  and  to  ac- 
quire courage  and  vigor,  that  we  may  go  on  toward 
the  consummation  of  our  rest  in  the  fulness  of  Christ's 
glory.  It  should  be  to  us,  not  merely  the  comfort  of 
the  moment,  but  as  a  healthful  meal,  partaken  of  with 
the  keenness  of  hunger  and  thirst,  to  animate  us  for 
future  and  more  determined  labors.  Except  we  pro- 
pose to  ourselves  the  subsequent  labor,  we  have  no  right 
to  the  heavenly  food.  "  The  workman "  only  "  is 
worthy  of  his  meat."     They  who  have  been  most  dil- 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER.  £Lect.  XXXVIL 

igent  m  workinglbr  Christ,  have  the  best  relish  of  the 
sacrament,  because  their  work  has  stimulated  their 
appetite ;  they  who  most  ardently  aspire  to  increasing 
service,  will  have  the  best  blessing  on  their  share  of 
the  feast,  because  God  will  strengthen  his  willing 
servant. 

'  d*  The  sacrament  is  a  vivid  representation  of  Christ's 
body,  to  which  all  believers  are  vitally  and  indissolubly 
united ;  therefore  is  it  our  duty,  as  well  as  our  privilege, 
to  lay  hold  for  ourselves  of  the  blessed  truth.  It  is  no 
presumption,  but  an  obedient  trust  in  God's  grace,  for 
the  penitent  sinner  to  believe  himself  actually  united 
to  Christ, — so  intimately  united  as  to  be  crucified  with 
him,  quickened  with  him,  assured  of  glory  with  him. 
It  is  only  from  this  close  appropriation  of  Christ's 
»iiretyship,  that  we  can  be  made  certain  of  pardon,  of 
grace,  and  of  heaven.  Such  acts  of  faith  must  accom- 
pany our  receiving  into  our  mouths  our  portion  of  the 
elements,  or  we  do  not  receive  their  spiritual  benefits 
which  God  offers. 

The  blessed  effects  of  snch  faith  on  the  soul  cannot 
sufficiently  be  estimated.  It  answers  all  our  doubts  of 
mercy ;  for  whatever  be  our  guilt,  Christ  has  taken  it 
ml  away,  when,  uniting  us  to  his  person  on  the  cross, 
le  for  us  and  we  in  him  satisfied  the  law  and  died  un- 
der its  penalty.  It  answers  all  our  fears  from  our  own 
weakness,  because  we,  by  the  same  spirit  which  quick- 
ened him  from  the  dead,  rise  with  him  into  a  new  life, 
given  by  God  and  maintained  in  us,  as  Christ  lived, 
accepted,  justified,  and  sanctified.  It  answers  all  our 
hesitations  in  drawing  near  to  God  and  asking  a  full 
supply  of  all  we  need,  because  Christ  our  head  sits  on 
the  throne  of  grace,  and  has  received  without  measure 


LtJCT.XXXVII.J  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 


319 


' 


the  Holy  Ghost  for  his  body,  even  as  the  abundant  oil, 
poured  on  the  head  of  the  high  priest,  descended  over 
his  whole  person,  "  even  to  the  skirts  of  his  garments." 
It  answers  all  our  questions  for  the  future,  because, 
certainly  as  Christ's  glory  followed  his  sufferings,  they 
who  were  united  with  him  on  his  cross  shall  be  united 
to  him  on  his  throne.     It  will  make  us  reverent  and 
devout,  for  how  holy  should  they  be  who  are  members 
of  Christ's  body !     How  shameful  a  thing  to  pollute  his 
sacred  person  !    It  will  make  us  zealous  in  good  works, 
because,  when  on  our  earth,  he  was  zealous,  and  they 
who  say  they  "  abide  in  him  "  ought  themselves  to  walk 
even  as  he  also  walked.     How  can  we  represent  our 
Head,  or  how  feel  that  the  life  which  is  in  him  is  in  us, 
except  we  do  as  he  did,  and  obey  his  will  as  the  body 
obeys  the  spirit.     It  will  inspire  us  with  long-suffering 
charity  for  our  fellow-sinners,  whom  he  pities  so  much, 
and  bears  with  so  patiently,  and  invites  so  tenderly,  and 
is  ready  to  receive  so  graciously.     It  will  unite  us  in 
closest   sympathy  with  our  fellow-Christians   dear  to 
Christ,  and  enjoying  his  sympathy  as  members  of  the 
body  he  has  redeemed,  banishing  from  our  hearts  all 
quarrel  and  schism  and  envy  and  jealousy,  making  us 
ardently  desirous  of  their  growth  in  grace,  because  as 
they  prosper  we  prosper,  and  as  we  prosper  they  pros- 
per.    And  it  will  fill  our  souls  with  fervent  aspiring 
expectations  of  our  final  victory  and  consummate  bliss, 
drawing  our  affections  from  things  on  earth  to  things 
above,  where  Christ  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  pre- 
paring places  of  honor  and  bliss  and  light,  and  safe 
eternal  rest ;  where  hope,  oflen  wearied  here,  shall  fold 
her  wings  to  gaze  on  the  rainbow  about  the  throne ; 
and  faith  put  off  her  sword   and   buckler  to  strike 


aimimii 


320 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER.  [Lect.  XXXVU. 


the  golden  harp  of  triumph ;  and  love,  satisfied  with 
love,  the  love  of  the  saints,  the  love  of  the  angels,  the 
love  of  Christ,  the  love  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  love  of 
the  Father,  transfigure  the  happy,  holy,  exulting, 
thankful  church  from  glory  to  glory. 


LECTURE   XXXVIII. 


AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 


VOL.   II. 


21 


b'WB^ 


\ 


THIRTIETH  LORD'S  DAY. 

AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 

Quest.  LXXX.  What  difference  is  there  between  the  Lord's  supper  and 
the  Popish  mass. 

Ans.  The  Lord's  supper  testifies  to  us  that  we  have  a  full  pardon  of  all 
sin  by  the  only  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  he  himself  has  once  ac- 
complished on  the  cross;  and  that  we  by  the  Holy  Ghost  are  ingrafted 
into  Christ,  who  according  to  his  human  nature  is  now  not  on  earth, 
but  in  heaven,  at  the  right  hand  of  God  his  Father,  and  will  there  be 
worshipped  by  us: — but  the  mass  teacheth,  that  the  living  and  the 
dead  have  not  the  pardon  of  their  sins  through  the  sufierings  of  Christ, 
unless  Christ  is  also  daily  offered  for  them  by  the  priests ;  and,  further, 
that  Christ  is  bodily  under  the  form  of  bread  and  wine,  and,  therefore, 
is  to  be  worshipped  in  them ;  so  that  the  mass,  at  bottom,  is  nothing 
else  than  a  denial  of  the  one  sacrifice  and  suffering  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  an  accursed  idolatry. 

TTAVING,  in  our  expositions  of  the  twenty-eighth 
•^^  and  twenty-ninth  Lord's  days,  discussed  at  length 
the  nature  and  purpose  of  the  Lord's  supper,  we  need 
not  now  to  dwell  upon  what  is  stated  in  the  first  part 
of  the  80th  Answer,  but  may  give  our  whole  atten- 
tion to  the  extraordinary  absurdity  and  idolatrous  wick- 
edness of  the  doctrine  taught  by  the  Papists,  respecting 
the  conversion  of  the  bread  and  wine  of  the  eucharist 
into  the  actual  body  and  blood  of  our  Lord,  which  they 
term  transubstantiation,  and  also  the  offering  of  that 
bread  and  wine  as  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  in  the  mass. 

Let  not  any  object  to  our  proposed  discourse  as  un- 
necessary, because  the  Papist  belief  is  not  worthy  of 
serious  refutation  before  a  Protestant  assembly ;  for. 


'■ 


824  AGAINST  TKANSUBSTANTUTION.     [Lect.  XXXVUI. 

let  It  be  remembered,  that,  a  short  time  before  the  com- 
position of  our  Catechism,  the  views  we  would  con- 
demn were  held  by  nearly  the  whole  of  Christendom, 
•and  that  they  prevail  over  the  larger  part  of  it  at  the 
f resent  time.     The  glorious  Reformation,   which,,  by 
making  the  simple  Scriptures  of  God  our  only  rule  of 
faith  and  practice,  greatly  impaired  the  influence  of 
opinions  derived  from  decrees  of  councils  and  asserted 
through  doubtful  tradition,  has  not  accomplished  a  com- 
pkt©  victory  ;  as  we  see  in  the  dominance  of  the  Papal 
system  at  this  day ;  nor  are  we  without  painful  proof 
that,  while  many  are  coming  out  from  that  region  of 
fill  shadow  of  death  into  the  purer  light,  there  are 
those  so  weak  in  their  religious  judgment  and  con- 
science as  to  leave  the  open  Bible,  with  its  spiritual 
teachings,  for  the  cunningly  devised  fables  of  a  gross, 
carnal  superstition.     Therefore  our  church  commands 
her  ministers  publicly  to  refute,  from  Scripture  and  the 
analogy  of  faith,  these  mischievous  errors,  which  she 
will  conliiiue  to  protest  against  until  the  head  of  the 
old  serpent  is  fatally  crushed  beneath  the  foot  of  our 
triumphant  Lord. 

The  controversy  on  the  points  before  us  has  been 
waged,  as  you  doubtless  know,  for  many  centuries, 
having  enlisted  the  logic  and  learning  of  the  keenest, 
most  disciplined  minds.  Papist  and  Protestant ;  so  that 
it  would  be  utterly  impossible  to  handle,  in  a  brief  dis- 
course, matter  about  which  thousands  of  volumes  have 
been  written.  Nor  will  it  be  necessary.  Whatever 
difficulty  they  who  have  been  sophisticated  and  crip- 
pled by  false  education  and  inveterate  bigotry,  may 
find  when  required  to  decide  upon  questions  which 
have  been  tangled  by  Jesuitical  art,  we,  who  rely  only  ' 


Lect.  XXXVIII.]    AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 


325 


M 


upon  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  can  easily  cut  the  knot. 
God's  holy  word  will  make  all  plain  to  his  "  little  chil- 
dren," who  would  "  keep  themselves  from  idols." 

The  word  mass  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Scriptures, 
original  or  translated ;  nor  was  it  known  in  the  church 
for  the  first  four  centuries.     Its  etymology  is  doubtful, 
but,  among  the  many  attempts  to  trace  its  derivation, 
the   one   generally   received   as   the  most  probable   is 
that  given  by  the  Romish  doctors.     May  it  not  be  a 
corruption- from  et^er^,  to  eat;  comesa,  comapa^  an  eat- 
ing together  ?     They  say  it  is  a  corruption  of  the  Latin 
word  missa,  and   came  into   use  from  the  sacrament 
being  administered  after  the  non-communicants  were 
sent  out  of  the  church  by  the  customary  phrase,  Ite, 
missa  est,  —  ^.  e.  Go,  the   congregation   is   dismissed. 
Strictly  speaking,  the  mass  signifies  the  prayers  and 
ceremonies  with  which  the  Popish  priests  precede  and 
accompany  the  eucharist.     In  process  of  time,  as  the 
corruption   of  the   church   increased,  the   mass   came 
rather  to  mean  the  supposed  transubstantiation  of  the 
elements  and  the  offering  of  the  body  and  blood  of  the 
Lord  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  living  or  dead, 
on  whose  behalf  the  service  was  performed.     It  would, 
however,  be  a  wearisome  folly  for  us  to  recite  all  the 
mummery  and  multifarious  formalities   prescribed  by 
the   highest   ecclesiastical   authority  in  the   missal  or 
mass-book.     We  shall  take  up  only  what  is  brought 
before  us  in  the  80th  Question  and  Answer. 

The  statement  here  made  of  the  Popish  doctrine  has 
tw^o  parts  :  the  first  concerning  the  pretended  offering 
of  Christ's  body  and  blood,  under  the  appearance  of 
bread  and  wine,  as  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  for  sins  unto 
God  the  Father ;  the  second  concerning  the  pretended 


826 


AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.     [Lect.  XXXVIII. 


>i 


conversion  of  the  bread  and  wine  of  the  sacrament  into 
the  real  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  But  as  the  first 
error  of  the  sacrifice  properly  follows  or  is  dependent 
upon  the  second,  of  transubstantiation,  we  shall  for 
that  reason  reverse  the  order. 

I.  That  the  Catechism  does  not  represent  the  Popish 
doctrine  unfairly,  will  be  seen  by  reading  the  confession 
of  the  17th  article  of  the  creed,  which  was  established 
by  the  council  of  Trent :  "  I  do  likewise  profess  that  in 
the  mass  is  offered  a  true,  proper,  and  propitiatory  sac- 
rifice for  the  living  and  the  dead ;  and  that  the  bodv 
and  blood,  together  with  the  soul  and  divinity  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  are  truly,  really,  and  substantially 
in  the  most  holy  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper ;  and 
that  the  whole  substance  of  the  bread  is  turned  into 
the  body,  and  the  whole  substance  of  the  wine  is  turned 
into  the  blood  ;  which  change  the  Catholic  church  calls 
transubstantiation."  The  council  of  Trent  farther 
stated  and  established  the  doctrine  of  their  church  in 
the  following  articles  :  1.  If  any  one  denies  that  there 
is  contained  in  the  most  holy  sacrament  of  the  altar, 
truly,  really,  and  substantially  the  body  and  the  blood, 
together  with  the  soul  and  divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and,  consequently,  the  entire  Christ,  —  if  any 
one  say,  that  he  is  contained  therein  only  in  a  symbol 
or  figure  or  virtue  (grace),  let  him  be  accursed.  2.  If 
any  one  says  that  there  remains  in  the  most  holy  sacra- 
ment of  the  altar  the  substance  of  the  bread  and  wine 
together  with  the  life  and  the  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  if  he  denies  that  wonderful  and  miraculous 
transformation  of  the  whole  substance  of  the  bread  into 
the  body,  and  the  whole  substance  of  the  wine  into  the 
blood,  while  there  remains  only  the  form  («pme«,  ap- 


Lect.  XXXVIIL]     AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  327 

pearance)  of  the  bread  and  wine,   which  transforma- 
tion is  termed  by  the  Catholic  church  transubstantia- 
tion, let  him  be  accursed.     3.  If  there  be  any  one  who 
denies  that  there  is  contained  in  the  venerable  sacra- 
ment of  the  altar  under  both  sorts,  and,  after  division 
has  been  performed,  under  the  single  parts  of  both 
sorts  [fcread  and  wine],  the  whole  Christ,  let  him  be 
accursed.     4.  If  any  one  says,  that,  after  consecration 
has  been  performed,  the  body  and  the  blood  of  Christ 
is  not  in  the  miraculous  sacrament  of  the  altar,  but 
that  it  is  only  during  the  tasting  and  not  before  or 
afterwards,  and  that  there  is  not  in  the  consecrated 
host  \Jwstia,  properly  victim],  or  the  particles,  pre- 
served or  remaining  after  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
supper,  the  true  body  of  the  Lord,  let  him  be  accursed. 
6.  If  any  one  says,  either  that  remission  of  sins  be  the 
principal  effect  of  the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  or  that 
no  other  results  spring  from  it,  let  him  be  accursed. 
6.  If  any  one  says  that  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God 
is  not  to  be  adored  by  external  worship  in  the  holy 
sacrament  of  the  altar,  and  not  to  be  revered  with  par- 
ticular solemnity ;  nor  to  be  carried  about  in  proces- 
sions, after  the  praiseworthy  and  universal  usage  of  the 
church  ;  nor  to  be  presented  publicly  to  the  people ; 
and  that   those  who  adore  him  [that  is  in  the  host] 
are  idolaters,  let  him  be  accursed.     7.  If  any  one  says 
that  it  is  not  permitted  to  keep  the  holy  eucharist  in 
the  pyx,  but  that  it  must  be  distributed  immediately 
after  the  consecration  to  the  by-standers,  or  that  it  is 
not  permitted  to  bear  it  reverentially  to  the  sick,  let 
him  be  accursed.     8.  If  any  one  says  that  the  Christ 
offered  in  the  eucharist  is  tasted  only  ^iritually,  and 
not  sacramentally  and   really,  let  him   be   accursed. 


,1 


I 


328         AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTUTION.      [Lect.  XXXVIIL 

i.  If  any  one  denies  that  all  Christian  believers  of 
either  sex,  as  soon  as  they  are  arrived  at  years  of  dis- 
cretion, are  bound,  after  the  command  of  the  holy 
Catholic  church,  to  communicate,  at  least  on  Easter  in 
each  year,  let  him  be  accursed.  10.  If  any  one  denies 
that  it  is  not  permitted  to  the  officiating  priest  to  ad- 
minister fie  sacrament  to  himself,  let  him  be  accursed. 
11.  If  any  one  says  that  faith  alone  is  a  sufficient  prep- 
aration for  the  enjoyment  of  the  holy  sacrament,  let 
him  be  accursed.* 

Were  these  not  a  close  translation  of  the  decrees 
solemnly  adopted  and  issued  by  the  council  of  Trent, 
you  might  well  suspect  that  the  statement  made  by  our 
church  was  an  exaggerated  slander  on  the  church  of 
Rome;  as  it  is,  your  Protestant  reason  can  hardly 
believe  that  so  large  a  body  of  people,  professing  to 
acknowledge  the  Scriptures  of  divine  revelation,  really 
consent  to  the  most  remarkable  imposition  on  human 
credulity  that  has  ever  been  attempted  by  designing 
or  fanatical  men.  But  the  painstaking  particularity 
with  which  the  council  puts  forth  the  preposterous 
dogma  allows  no  room  for  charity  to  plead  that  they 
mean  otherwise  than  as  they  say. 

Their  doctrine  is  :  1.  That  at  the  moment  the  priest 
utters  the  consecrating  words,  the  whole  substance  of 
the  bread  and  wine  is  changed  into  the  true,  real,  and 
substantial  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  containing  his 
spiritual  soul  and  adorable  divinity. 

2.  That,  notwithstanding  the  elements,  as  presented 
to  our  senses,  remain  to  all  perception  the  same  as  be- 

•  This  translation  is  copied  from  the  article  Mass  in  the  "  Encyclopadia 
Americana,"  to  which  it  was  furnished  by  a  Roman  Catholic.  It  is  inele- 
gant, but  correct. 


Lect.  XXXVIIL]     AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 


329 


fore  their  consecration,  only  their  perceptible  accidents 
remain,  but  none  of  their  substance,  the  substance  being 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ. 

3.  That  the  whole  Christ  is  contained  in  each  part 
of  the  sacrament,  in  that  which  was  the  bread  and  in 
that  which  was  the  wine ;  and  this,  also,  in  each  sub- 
division or  particle,  however  minute,  of  each  of  them. 

4.  That  the  body  and  blood,  soul  and  divinity  of 
Christ  is  contained  in  both  parts  of  the  sacrament  from 
the  moment  of  the  priest  pronouncing  the  transubstan- 
tiating words  (^Eoc  est  corpus  meum)^  and  so  long  as  the 
elements  retain  their  species^  or  appearance  of  bread 
and  wine. 

5.  That  the  fact  of  the  transubstantiation  is  in  no 
way  dependent  on  the  faith  either  of  the  officiating 
priest  or  of  the  participator,  but  is  accomplished  solely 
by  the  virtue  of  the  words  Hoc  est  corpus  meum^  pro- 
nounced by  the  ordained  priest,  as  prescribed  by  the 
ritual. 

This  whole  doctrine  the  Reformed  churches  deny 
and  protest  against : 

1.  Because  it  has  no  foundation  in  Holy  Scripture. 

The  Papist  asserts  that,  when  our  Lord,  at  the  insti- 
tution of  the  supper,  took  bread,  and,  having  broken  it, 
said,  "  This  is  my  body  broken  for  you,"  and  after- 
wards took  the  cup  and  said,  "  This  cup  is  the  new 
testament  in  my  blood,"  he  meant  that  the  bread  was 
actually  transubstantiated  into  his  body,  and  the  wine 
into  his  blood.  Tlie  whole  controversy,  so  far  as  we, 
who  give  no  heed  to  mere  church  authority,  are  con- 
cerned, hinges  on  this  point. 

We  deny  that  our  Lord  intended  by  the  words  in 
question  anything  more  than  that  the  bread  and  wine 


i 


'mO' 


AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.      [Lect.  XXXVIII. 


were  significant  representations  of  his  true  body  and 
blood  offered  on  the  cross. 

Our  Lord,  adopting  the  usages  of  human  speech, 
was  accustomed  to  illustrate  spiritual  truths  by  figures ; 
and  to  insist  upon  our  taking  such  blessed  words  of  his 
literally,  would  be  to  make  his  teachings  utterly  ridicu- 
lous and  incomprehensible.  Thus,  when  he  told  Nico- 
demus  that  he  must  be  born  again,  and  Nicodemus, 
with  a  Papist-like  stupidity,  asked,  "  How  can  a  man 
be  bom  when  he  is  old  ?  "  he  explained  it  by  giving  the 
spiritual  meaning  of  the  new  birth.  So  when  he  said 
at  another  time,  "  If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let 
him  deny  himself  and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me," 
it  is  admitted  on  all  hands  that  the  follower  of  Christ  is 
not  required  actually  to  carry  a  cross  on  his  shoulders, 
but  to  bear  faithfully  the  reproach  of  Christ  before  the 
world.  He  said  to  Peter :  "  Thou  art  Peter,  and  on 
this  rock  I  will  build  my  church ; "  by  which  the  Papists 
understand  that  the  church  is  established  on  the  su- 
premacy of  Peter,  but  by  no  means  suppose  that  Peter's 
person  was  transubstantiated  into  a  rock,  or  that  the 
church  rests  actually  on  him.  For  elsewhere  he  said 
unto  Peter :  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan ;  "  which,  if 
ik»  words  be  taken  literally,  would  be  to  assert  that 
Peter  was  changed  into  Satan,  and,  therefore,  that  their 
church  was  built  on  the  devil,  — a  fact,  probable  enough, 
but  one  they  would  be  far  from  admitting.  At  the 
well  of  Sychar  he  offered  unto  the  woman  "living 
water,"  and  added,  in  reply  to  her  wondering  question, 
"  Whosoever  shall  drink  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give 
him  shall  never  thirst,  and  the  water  that  I  shall  give 
him  shall  be  in  him  a  well  of  water  springing  up  into 
everlasting  life."     "  Living  water  "  is  running  water ; 


K 


Lect.  XXXVIII.]     AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.         331 

yet  will  the  Papist  assert  that  our  Lord  gave  the  woman 
running  water,  or  that  the  Christian's  heart  is  actually 
an  eternal  fountain  of  running  water?  The  Baptist 
pointed  him  out  to  his  disciples  as  the  Lamb  of  God ; 
but  was  he  actually  a  lamb  ?  or  was  that  word  used  to 
declare  him  the  sacrifice  appointed  for  sin  ?  He  calls 
Christians  his  sheep ;  are  they  actually  sheep,  or  only 
like  him  in  his  meekness,  and  the  objects  of  his  pecuHar 
care  ?  He  calls  himself  "the  door  of  the  sheep,"  and 
"  the  true  vine  "  ;  was  he  transubstantiated  into  a  door 
or  a  vine  ?  Each  of  these  assertions  are  as  positive  as 
his  saying,  "  This  is  my  body ; "  and  if  this  last  must 
be  taken  literally,  so  must  they  all. 

In  the  sixth  chapter  of  John,  which  is  especially  relied 
on  by  the  Papists  to  prove  their  dogma,  he  said,  "  I  am 
the  bread  of  life ; "  was  he  at  that  moment  transub- 
stantiated into  bread  ?  Again,  he  says  of  himself  that 
he  was  "  the  bread  that  came  down  from  heaven  " ; 
did  he  come  down  from  heaven  in  the  substance  of 
bread  ?  If  then,  because  he  said  "  This  is  my  body," 
the  bread  was  transubstantiated  into  his  body,  it  follows 
that,  because  he  declared  himself  to  be  bread,  his  body 
was  transubstantiated  into  bread ;  yet  the  Papist  anath- 
ematizes those  who  do  not  deny  that  any  substance  of 
bread  remains  in  the  host.  So  again  our  Lord  said, 
"  This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  my  blood ; "  not 
the  cup,  the  wi7ie  in  the  cup  ;  and  if  we  must  take  his 
words  literally,  the  cup  was  transubstantiated  into  his 
blood,  or  rather  into  the  new  covenant,  of  which  the 
blood  of  Christ  was  the  meritorious  cause.  Into  such 
absurdities  does  the  Papistical  rule  of  understanding 
ouir  Lord's  words  literally  betray  us. 

But  the  apostle  Paul,  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  chap- 


mm 


IPOH 


S32 


AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.      [Lect.  XXXVIU. 


ters  of  1  Corinthians,  in  effect  denies  the  transubstan- 
tiatioa  o£  the  elements ;  for  he  says :  "  The  cup  of 
blessing  which  we  bless,  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the 
blood  of  Christ  ?  The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not 
the  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ  ?  "  Again  :  "As 
often  as  ye  eat  this  bread  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do  show 
the  Lord's  death  till  he  come.  Wherefore,  whosoever 
shall  eat  this  bread  and  drink  this  cup  of  the  Lord  un- 
worthily, shall  be  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood  of  the 
Lord."  Here  the  first  element  is  called  bread,  and  the 
second  the  cup,  or  wine,  after  what  the  Papist  considers 
the  moment  of  transubstantiation,  that  is,  the  utterance 
of  the  formula  Hoc  est  corpus  meum;  because  he  speaks 
of  the  bread  broken  and  both  elements  partaken  of  by 
the  communicant.  Now,  says  the  council  of  Trent : 
"  If  any  one  says  that  there  remains  in  the  most  holy 
sacrament  of  the  altar  (^.  e,  in  the  elements)  the  sub- 
stance of  the  bread  and  wine  together  with  the  hfe  and 
blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  "  and  "  if  any  one  says 
that,  after  consecration  has  been  performed,  the  body 
and  the  blood  of  Christ  is  not  in  the  miraculous  sacra- 
ment of  the  altar,  but  that  this  is  only  during  the  tast- 
ing, neither  ,before  nor  afterwards,  ...  let  him  be 
accursed."  But  the  apostle  Paul  calls  the  elements, 
bread  and  wine  after  the  consecration  and  during  the 
tasting,  therefore  the  apostle  is  anathematized.  Our 
Lord  himself,  after  distributing  the  cup,  said,  "  I  will 
drink  no  more  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day 
that  I  drink  it  new  in  the  kingdom  of  God."  This  is 
contrary  to  the  council  of  Trent.  Will  they  anathe- 
matize our  Lord  ?  The  Papists  lay  great  stress  upon 
our  Lord's  words  in  John  vi  63-57  :  "  Except  ye  eat 
the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye 


f 


LEcr.  XXXVIII.]      AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  333 

have  no  life  in  you,"  '&c.  But  what  does  our  Lord  add 
to  these  declarations  :  "  This  is  that  bread  which  came 
down  from  heaven ;  not  as  your  fathers  did  eat  manna, 
and  are  dead ;  he  that  eateth  of  this  bread  shall  live 
forever."  Here  our  Lord  himself  contradicts  the  coun- 
cil of  Trent  by  calling  his  body,  of  which  the  commu- 
nicant is  to  eat,  bread.  He  adds  still  further :  "  It  is 
the  Spirit  that  quickeneth ;  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing ; 
the  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are  spirit  and 
they  are  life."  What,  then,  can  be  clearer  than  that, 
when  our  Lord  calls  the  bread  and  wine  of  the  sacra- 
ment his  body  and  blood,  he  means  that,  in  receiving 
these  elements,  we  receive  spiritually  by  faith  the  bless- 
ings purchased  by  his  atonement,  and  that  through  such 
faith  we  derive  life  ? 

2.  The  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  is  thus  op- 
posed to  the  whole  tenor  of  Scripture,  which  declares  , 
that  we  are  saved  through  faith  in  the  truth  of  the 
gospel,  and  that  all  external  acts  are  valueless,  except 
so  far  as  they  are  manifestations  of  such  inward  faith. 
Even  were  the  abhorrent  thing  possible  that  we  should 
eat  the  actual  flesh  of  Christ,  and  drink  his  actual 
blood,  it  could  not  benefit  or  in  any  way  reach  our 
souls,  which  can  be  affected  only  by  truths  received 
and  held  in  a  spiritual  faith.  We  are  not  to  look  for 
Christ  in  any  corporeal  presence  on  earth,  but  to  "  lift 
up  our  hearts,"  or  "  set  our  aflections  on  things  above, 
where  Christ  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father." 

3.  The  asserted  transubstantiation  is  contrary  to  rea- 
son and  the  evidence  of  our  senses.  This  the  Papists 
admit,  but  assert  that  it  is  to  be  received  as  a  matter  of 
faith  ;  for  with  God  all  things  are  possible ;  and,  there- 
fore, when  our  Lord  declares  the  bread  and  the  wine 


■'.rff 


^^^^'^"T"f**»WW^^^^W^^|g» 


834 


AGAINST  XEANSUBSTANTUTION.     [Lect.  XXXVni. 


• 


P 


ll  lie  Ms  ho3j  and  blood,  we  are  bound  to  believe  him, 
the  testimony  of  our  senses  and  the  judgment  of  our 
reason  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  To  this  we 
answer,  that  there  are  certain  things  which  are  impos- 
sible with  God,  because  they  would  be  inconsistent 
with  himself.  Thus,  "  it  is  impossible  that  God  should 
ll©i"  or  that  he  should  deceive,  which  he  must  be  sup- 
posed to  do  in  the  case  of  transubstantiation  ;  for  it 
demands  that  we  should  believe  a  thinji  which  has 
every  accident,  quality,  or  property  of  bread  or  wine, 
to  be  another  thing,  the  flesh  or  blood  of  Christ,  when 
it  has  no  accident,  quality,  or  property  of  flesh  or  blood. 
How  do  we  know  any  one  to  be  that  particular  thing, 
and  not  any  other  thing,  but  by  its  accidents  or  quali- 
ties or  properties  ?  Thus  we  know  bread  and  wine 
to  be  bread  and  win©  by  their  form,  color,  taste,  and 
effects.  Take  these  all  away  from  them,  and  they 
cease  to  be  bread  and  wine  ;  nor  can  that  be  flesh  and 
blood  which  has  not  the  particular  qualities  of  flesh 
and  blood,  but  appears  with  the  particular  qualities  of 
Iread  and  wine.  In  other  words,  it  is  no  blasphemy  to 
deny  that  God  can  make  one  thing,  while  its  distinctive 
properties  are  retained,  to  be  another  thing.  The  Pa- 
pists' reply  to  this  is,  that  the  substance  of  the  bread 
and  wine  is  changed,  but  their  properties  or  perceptible 
qualities  are  not  changed  ;  and  that  it  is  not  bread  and 
wine,  but  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ ;  not  under  the 
form  (species)  of  flesh  and  blood,  but  under  the  form 
(spedeB)  and  with  the  perceptible  qualities  of  bread 
and  wine.  What  do  we  know  of  substance,  except  as 
Hftt  undiscernible  essence  in  which  the  qualities  of  a 
Ihing  subsist  ?  Hence  we  can  know  of  the  substance 
of  a  thing  only  by  the  discernible  qualities  of  that 


Lect.  XXXVIIL]      AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.         335 

thing.  If  we  perceive  the  peculiar  qualities  of  bread 
and  wine,  we  are  compelled  by  the  nature  God  has 
given  us  to  believe  that  they  subsist  in  the  substance  of 
bread  and  wine.  If  we  do  not  perceive  the  peculiar 
qualities  of  flesh  and  blood,  we  cannot  believe  that  the 
substance  of  flesh  or  blood  is  there ;  because  the  per- 
ceptible qualities  are  the  peculiarities  by  which  God 
orders  that  we  should  distinguish  things  from  other 
things. 

But,  say  they,  it  is  a  miracle  and  a  mystery,  and 
must  be  received  by  faith,  not  by  corporeal  sense  or 
reason.     We  answer,  it  is  not  a  miracle,  but  a  contra- 
diction.    A  miracle  is  a  divine  work  submitted  to  the 
evidence  of  our  senses,  as  when  the  water  was  turned 
into  wine.     There  was  then  an  actual  change  of  the 
qualities  of  the  water  into  the  qualities  of  the  wine. 
Had  there   been  no  such  change  of  qualities,  there 
would  have  been  no  miracle,  because  there  was  no 
submitting  of  the  work  to  the  senses.     So  it  is  not  a 
mystery.     A  mystery  is  a  fact,  the  reality  of  which  we 
know,  but  the  mode  of  which  is  above  our  understand- 
ing.    The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  a  mystery,  because 
it  concerns  the  mode  of  God's  infinite  being.     The  fact 
of  the  subsistence  of  three  divine  persons  in  one  God, 
we  know  from  divine  testimony  ;  but  the  mode  of  such 
subsistence  is  infinitely  above  our  reason.     In  transub- 
stantiation, the  object  is  perfectly  within  our  capacity 
of  observation,  while  the  asserted  fact  is  contrary  to 
every  rule  of  evidence  by  which  God  requires  us  to  try 
such  facts.     Can  God  contradict  himself,  by  requiring 
us  to  believe  that  which  is  contrary  to  what  he  has 
taught  us  to  believe? 

There  are  other  absurdities.     The  flesh  and  blood, 


*! 


i 


9 


336  AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.     [Lect.  XXXVIII. 

or  body  of  Christ,  is  a  human  body.     A  human  body 
is,  as  to  its  essence  and  qualities,  finite,  and  limited  to 
m  certain  portion  of  space,  that  is,  it  cannot  be  in  two 
separate  places  at  the  same  time.     Is  it,  then,  possible 
that  one  and  the  same  human  body  can  be,  at  the  same 
moment,  in  heaven  and  in  earth  ?    nay,  in  ten  thou- 
sand different  places  on  earth  widely  apart? — and  that 
it  is  infinitely  multiplicable,  so  that  each  minute  parti- 
cle of  what  was  once  bread  and  wine  is  its  whole  self, 
im  actual,  perfect  body  of  Christ  ?     Can  they  avoid 
the  absurdity  that  there  are  as  many  bodies  of  Christ 
as  there  are  particles  of  broken  bread,  or  portions  of 
distributed  wine  ?    That  the  divinity  of  Christ  is  every- 
where present,  we  know  from  its  infiniteness ;  that  the 
kumanity  of  Christ  cannot  be  in  more  than  one  place 
at  the  same  time,  we  itiow  firom  its  finiteness.     The 
more  astute  Papists  have  attempted  to  meet  this  by 
asserting  of  his  body  a  miraculous  or  "  supernatural  " 
manner  of  existence,  by  which,  being  without  exten- 
sion of  parts  rendered  independent  of  space,  it  may  be 
one  and  the  same  in  many  places  at  once,  and  whole  in 
every  part  of  the  symbols,  and  not  obnoxious  to  any 
corporeal  contingencies.*     What  ridiculous  self-con- 
tradiction !    Independent  of  space,  yet  occupying  space 
in  many  places  ;  separate  as  particles,  yet  whole  in 
each  particle  ;  continuing  as  a  corporeal  substance,  yet 
subject  to  no  corporeal  contingency  !     A  human  body, 
without  any  properties  of  a  human  body  !     The  fact  of 
our  Lord's  human  body,  or  body  in  all  points  like  our 
own,  having  been  raised  from  the  dead  and  translated 
into  glory,  is  fiill  of  comfort  to  us,  because  it  assures 
us  of  his  sympathy ;  but  that  comfort  is  all  taken  away 

•  Gother,  as  cited  by  Fletcher. 


Lkct.  XXXVIIL]     AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  337 

when  his  body  ceases  to  be  like  a  human  body,  by 
being  freed  from  corporeal  contingencies. 

4.  The  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  is  most  abhor- 
rent to  our  moral  sensibilities. 

There  is  scarcely  anything  more  shocking  than  the 
eating  of  human  flesh  or  the  drinking  of  human  blood. 
Cannibalism  is  the  most  degrading  vice  of  the  most 
brutal  savages,  and  is  scarcely  resorted  to  by  educated 
people  even  in  the  last  extremity  of  famine.  Yet  the 
Papist,  when  partaking  of  the  sacrament,  is  required 
under  pain  of  anathema  to  believe  that  he  actually 
breaks  with  his  teeth  and  swallows  the  most  holy  body 
of  our  divine  Lord,  which,  under  the  mumbling  of  a 
priest,  has  been  made  out  of  the  bread  and  the  wine. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  worst  rites  of  heathenism  so 
horrible  as  this.  Nay,  the  council  of  Trent  teaches 
that  the  spiritual  soul  and  proper  divinity  of  our  Lord 
is  contained  in  the  sacrament  so  that  we  take,  with  the 
sacrament,  the  spiritual  soul  and  divinity  of  our  Lord 
into  our  mouths  and  thence  into  our  bodies. 

They  contend,  also,  that  the  body  and  blood  of  the 
Lord  remain  in  the  elements  so  long,  and  only  so  long, 
as  they  retain  the  species  or  form  of  bread  and  wine. 
Portions  of  the  host  may  remain  in  the  pyx  after  the 
communion,  yet  continue  the  body  of  Christ.     But  the 
wafer  retaining  the   properties  of  the  bread,   though 
not  its  substance,  is  therefore  liable  to  corruption,  by 
which  it  is  dissolved  ;  so  that  corruption  is  the  method 
by  which  the  miracle  (so  called)  is  limited  and  the 
body  of  the  Lord  destroyed ;  even  that  sacred  body  of 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  has  twice  said,  it  shall  not  see 
corruption.     The  portions  that  are  eaten,  each  contain- 
ing the  whole  Christ,  pass  into  the  bodies  of  the  partici- 


VOL.   11. 


22 


338  AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.     [Lect.  XXXVIII. 


pants,  and  then  are  subject  to  tlie  process  by  which  all 
food  and  drink  lose  their  species  and  are  changed  into 
different  substances ;  and  this  process  destroys  or  dis- 
solves the  most  sacred  and  glorified  body  of  our  divine 
Lord.  These  are  the  disgusting  consequences  which 
inevitably  result  from  the  desperate  perversions  of  Pop- 
ery. We  adore  that  one  day,  which  to-morrow  is 
changed  into  corruption.  We  adore  that  at  one  mo- 
ment, which  in  another  we  eat  and  swallow.* 

Dear  brethren,  how  sad  is  the  superstition,  in  the 
honest  exposure  of  which  we  are  compelled  to  mingle 
with  our  most  precious  thoughts  such  painfully  offen- 
sive associations ! 

This  argument  will  suffice  to  establish  our  denial  of 
transubstantiation,  and  we  may  be  glad  that  the  disa- 
greeable, though  necessary,  duty  is  over.  We  now 
pass  to  treat,  as  proposed  in  our  order,  of 

n.  The  oblation  of  the  sacrament  as  a  sacrifice  for 


sm. 


The  Papist  holds  that  the  priest,  having  instrumen- 
tally,  by  using  the  words  Hoc  est  corpus  meum^  transub- 
stantiated the  elements  into  the  body  and  blood  con- 
taining the  soul  and  divinity  of  our  Lord,  offers  that 
body  and  blood,  or  the  whole  Christ,  as  a  sacrifice  of 
adoration,  thanksgiving,  merit,  and  expiation  to  God  on 
behalf  of  both  the  dead  and  the  living.  It  follows, 
therefore,  that  if,  as  we  have  shown,  there  be  no  tran- 
substantiation, there  can  be  no  offering  of  Christ,  as 
pretended,  in  the  mass.     Yet  we  add  a  few  other  sug- 

*  That  we  have  not  misstated  the  Romish  views  on  this  subject,  may  be 
seen  from  the  fact,  that  the  priest  about  to  officiate  and  the  communicant 
intending  to  participate  in  the  sacrament  are  required  to  fast  from  twelve 
o'clock  of  the  night  before,  lest  any  other  substance  might  mingle  in  their 
digestion  with  the  host. 


Lkct.  XXXVIII.]     AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  339 

gestions  in  accordance  with  the  teachings  of  our  Cate- 
chism. 

1.  The  sacrament  cannot,  in  any  proper  sense,  be  a 
sacrifice,  because,  accordkig  to  our  Lord's  institution  of 
it,  it  is  an  ordinance  commemorative  of  his  death  for 
our  sins,  on  the  cross.    "  This  do,"  said  he,  "  in  remem- 
bmnce  of  me."    "  As  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread  and  drink 
this  cup,"  says  the  apostle,  "ye  do  show  the  Lord's 
death  till  he  come."     But  the  mass  pretends  to  be  a 
repetition,  not  a  memorial.     Our  Lord  said  not  a  word 
of  its  being  a  sacrifice  to  God,  but  treats  it  altogether 
as  a  service  of  faith,  profitable  to  our  own  souls,  because 
it  carries  back  our  tlioughts  to  his  atonement,  made  and 
finished  on  the  cross.     So  throughout  the  apostolical 
writings  there  is  not  a  word  of  trust  in  anything  else 
but  the  cross  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ; 
whereas  the  Papist  would  have  us  put  our  reliance  on 
another  sacrifice  of  Christ,  as  they  pretend,  in  the  ob- 
lation by  the  priest.     What  Christian  can  allow  such  a 
denial  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  great  atonement  ? 

2.  If  Christ  enter  the  sacrament  to  be  offered,  it  is 
necessary  that  he  should  come  from  heaven  to  earth ; 
which  is  contrary  to  his  own  and  the  apostolical  decla- 
rations. For  our  Lord  told  his  disciples  that  his  going 
away  was  expedient  for  them,  because,  if  he  went  not 
away,  the  Comforter  would  not  come;  but  that  he 
would  come  again  to  receive  them  unto  himself  in 
the  places  he  had  prepared  for  them ;  whence  it  is 
clear  that  his  coming  is  to  be  at  the  time  he  would  so 
take  them  with  him  into  heaven.  He  cannot,  there- 
fore, come  to  us  personally  in  the  sacrament,  and  will  not 
until  he  comes  to  his  final  triumph  ;  which  the  apostle 
means  when  he  says  we  "  show  the  Lord's  death  till  he 


»l 


■I 

i 
fl| 


K 

ii 

P'ui 


t 


3:40         AGAINST  TRANSUBSIiiXIATION.      [Lect.  XXXVUI. 

come."  During  tlie  interval  between  his  going  away 
in  his  ascension,  and  his  return  in  his  great  glory,  we 
receive  his  blessing  from  the  grace  of  "  the  Comforter 
iMeh  is  the  Holy  Ghost."  So,  also,  the  writer  to  the 
Hebrews  makes  our  "sure  and  steadfast"  hope  to  enter 
*•  within  the  veil,  whither  the  forerunner  is  for  us  en^ 
tered,  even  Jesus,  made  an  high  priest  forever  after  the 
order  of  Melchisedek." 

8.  The  asserted  repetition  of  the  sacrifice  in  the  mass 
M  a  deaial  of  perfectness  or  sufficiency  in  our  Lord's 
sacrifice  of  himself  on  the  cross,  which  is  a  direct  con- 
tradiction of  apostolical  testimony.     For  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  the  writer  deduces  his  strongest  argu- 
ment to  prove  the  superiority  of  Christ's   priesthood 
<lfir  file  Levitical  from   the  fact,   that,   while   they 
needed  often  to  repeat  their  sacrifices,  our  Lord  offered 
Iml  one,  which  was  himself.     These  are  his  words  on 
this  point:  #Such  an  high  priest  became  us,  who  is 
holy,  harmless,  undefiled,   separate  from  sinners,  and 
made  higher  than  the  heavens  ;  who  needeth  not  daily, 
as  those  high  priests,  [or,  we  may  add,  as  the  Romish 
priests,]  to  offer  up  sacrifice,  first  for  his  own  sins,  and 
then  for  the  people's :  for  this  he  did  once  when  he 
offered  up  himself."     Again:  "For  Christ  is  not  en- 
tered into  the  holy  places  made  with  hands,  which  are 
the  figures  of  the  true  ;  but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to 
appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us.     Nor  yet  that 
he  should  offer  himself  often,  as  the  high  priest  enter- 
eth  into  the  holy  place  every  year  with  the  blood  of 
others  ;  for  then  must  he  oflen  have  suffered  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world ;  but  now,  once  in  the  end  of 
the  world  hath  he  appeared  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sac- 
rifice of  himself;  and,  as  it  is  appointed  unto  all  men 


Lect.  XXXVIIL]     AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  341 

once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judgment,  so  Christ  was 
once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many  ;  and  unto  them, 
that  look  for  him,  will  he  appear  the  second  time  with- 
out sin  unto  salvation."  Again  :  "  By  the  which  will 
[the  will  of  God  in  Christ]  we  are  sanctified  through 
the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once  for  all. 
And  every  priest  standeth  daily  ministering  and  offering 
oftentimes  the  same  sacrifices,  which  can  never  take 
away  sins  :  but  this  man,  after  he  had  offered  one  sac- 
rifice for  sins  forever,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of 
God;  from  henceforth  expecting  till  his  enemies  be 
made  his  footstool.  For  by  one  offering  he  hath  per- 
fected forever  them  that  are  sanctified."  It  was  in 
anticipation  of  this  one  perfect  and  perfecting  atoning 
offering  of  Christ  on  the  cross  that  Daniel  prophesied  : 
"  After  threescore  and  two  weeks  shall  Messiah  be  cut 
off,  but  not  for  himself;  ....  and  he  shall  confirm  the 
covenant  with  many  for  one  week,  and  in  the  midst  of 
the  week  he  shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  the  oblation 
to  cease."  And  this  also  is  the  meaning  of  our  Lord 
on  the  cross,  when  he  said,  "  It  is  finished." 

4.  The  Papists,  however,  contend  that  the  oblation 
of  Christ's  body  and  blood,  the  whole  Christ,  in  the 
sacrament,  is  most  pleasing  to  God.  This  again  is 
contrary  to  Scripture,  which,  in  a  thousand  places, 
declares  that  it  is  faith  in  Christ's  cross  which  is  well 
pleasing  to  God  ;  for,  says  the  Psalmist  in  his  most 
penitential  psalm :  "  Thou  desirest  not  sacrifice,  else 
would  I  give  it ;  thou  delightest  not  in  burnt  offering. 
The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit ;  a  broken 
and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God,  thou  wilt  not  despise." 

They,  also,  attempt  to  justify  their  dogma  by  assert- 
ing that,  as  our  Lord  was  High  Priest  after  the  order 


I 


342         AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION.     [Lect.  XXXVIII. 

of  Melchisedek,  and  Melchisedek  "  brought  forth  bread 
and  wine  "  when  he  blessed  Abram,  so  Christ  must 
offer  a  similar  bloodless  sacrifice  of  bread  and  wine, 
wbicli  bf  did  not  offer  on  the  cross,  and  can  be  said 
to  offer  only  in  the  bread  and  wine  of  the  sacrament. 
The  citation  itself  defeats  them ;  for,  setting  aside  the 
obvious  probability  that  the  bread  and  wine  brought 
forth  by  Melchisedek  were  nothing  more  than  refresh- 
ments offered  by  him  to  Abram,  there  is  either  blood 
in  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  or  there  is  not.  If  there 
be  blood,  it  is  not  a  sacrifice  of  bread  and  wine  ;  if 
there  be  not  blood,  it  is  not  an  expiatory  sacrifice,  be- 
cause "  without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  re- 
missioli.**  But  if  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  be 
true,  there  is  both  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  in  the 
mass,  and  it  is,  therefore,  wholly  changed  from  the 
bread  and  wine  of  Melchisedek's  example  ;  and  they 
incur  the  anathema  of  their  chiefest  council  when  they 
assert  it  to  be  a  bloodless  sacrifice  or  a  sacrifice  of  bread 
and  wine.  They  try  to  evade  this  by  saying  that  it 
is  in  appearance  bread  and  wine.  What  avail  is 
the  mere  appearance,  when  the  substance  is  flesh  and 
blood  ? 

No,  my  brethren,  we  do  indeed  present  an  accept- 
able offering  to  God,  sufficient  to  cover  all  our  sins, 
when  in  our  faith  we  plead  the  perfect  sacrifice  of 
Christ,  once  offered  for  us  on  his  cross  ;  and  Jesus  is 
our  Melchisedek  when  he  sets  before  us  the  holy  bread 
and  wine  as  emblems  of  his  atoning  passion. 

Jfo  reference  has  been  made  in  our  foregoing  discus- 
sion to  the  opinions  of  the  church,  ancient  or  modern, 
because,  as  protestants,  we  reject  every  other  rule  of 
faith  beside  the  Scriptures ;  but  it  is  fair  to  add  that, 


LEC3T.  XXXVIII.]     AGAINST  TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 


343 


antecedently  to  the  council  of  Trent,  very  many  Pa- 
pists, and  not  the  least  learned  among  them,  denied  the 
transubstantiation  of  the  mass.  Dun  Scotus,  the  great 
opponent  of  Aquinas,  hesitated  not  to  oppose  it  with  all 
the  vigor  of  his  eminent  abilities,  in  which  he  was  sus- 
tained by  others  less  able  only  than  he.  Some,  who 
held  the  doctrine,  denied  that  it  was  taught  in  Scripture, 
contending  that  it  should  be  received  as  a  dogma  of 
their  infallible  church. 

We  learn  from  the  whole  subject  the  danger  of  de- 
parting from  the  simple  word  of  God,  and  the  simple 
doctrine  of  the  cross.  There  is  no  pitch  of  absurdity 
and  heresy,  even  idolatry,  that  we  may  not  reach  if  we 
give  ourselves  up  to  the  guidance  of  men,  even  of  a 
church. 

Very  thankful  should  we  be  that  God  by  his  unmer- 
ited goodness  has  not  permitted  us  to  be  educated  in 
such  superstition. 

And  earnestly  should  we  pray  that  those,  who  are 
now  in  that  region  of  the  shadow  of  death,  the  so-called 
church  of  Rome,  may,  by  the  same  grace,  be  brought 
to  the  true  light. 


* 


It 


LECTURE  XXXIX. 


THE  POWEE  OE  THE  KEYS. 


TfflRTY-FIRST  LORD'S  DAY. 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS. 


Quest.  LXXXIII.     What  are  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  f 

Ans.  The  preaching  of  the  holy  gospel  and  Christian  discipline,  or  ex- 
communication out  of  the  Christian  church ;  by  these  two  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  opened  to  believers  and  shut  against  unbelievers. 

Quest.  LXXXIV.  How  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  opened  and  shut  by  the 
preaching  of  the  go^elf 

Ans.  Thus :  when,  according  to  the  command  of  Christ,  it  is  declared  and 
publicly  testified  to  all  and  every  believer,  that  whenev^er  they  receive 
the  promise  of  the  gospel  by  a  true  faith,  all  their  sins  are  really  for- 
given them  of  God  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  merits;  and,  on  the  con- 
trary, when  it  is  declared  and  testified  to  all  unbelievers,  and  such  as 
do  not  sincerely  repent,  that  they  stand  exposed  to  the  wrath  of  God 
and  eternal  condemnation,  so  long  as  they  are  unconverted; — accord- 
ing to  which  testimony  of  the  gospel,  God  will  judge  them  both  in  this 
and  the  life  to  come. 

Quest.  LXXX  V.  How  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  shut  and  opened  by  Chris- 
tian discipline  f 

Ans.  Thus:  when,  according  to  the  command  of  Christ,  those  who,  under 
the  name  of  Christians,  maintain  doctrines  or  practices  inconsistent 
therewith,  and  will  not,  after  having  been  brotherly  admonished, 
renounce  their  errors  and  wicked  course  of  life,  are  complained  of 
to  the  church,  or  to  those  who  are  thereunto  appointed  by  the  church, 
and  if  they  despise  their  admonition,  are  by  them  forbid  the  use  of  the 
sacraments,  whereby  they  are  excluded  from  the  Christian  church  and 
by  God  himself  from  the  kingdom  of  Christ;  and  when  they  promise 
and  show  real  amendments,  are  again  received  as  members  of  Christ 
and  his  church. 

A  SUSPICION  has  arisen,  it  is  likely,  in  the  minds 
-^^  of  some  of  you  who  have  pursued  with  us  the 
study  of  our  Catechism,  that  there  are  at  least  a  few 
things  treated  of  with  too  great  particularity,  since  they 
are  now  fairly  understood,  and  the  true  doctrine  con- 
cerning them  believed  by  the  great  body  of  evangelical 


348 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS.      [Lkct.  XXXIX. 


Lect.  XXXIX.]     THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS. 


349 


I 


Christians.  It  should,  however,  be  remembered  that 
the  Catechism  was  written  but  a  short  time  after  our 
Reformed  churches  had  come  out  from  the  idolatrous 
church  (so  called)  of  Rome,  and  that  many  of  the 
anti-scriptural  dogmas  and  pretensions  of  Popery  and  its 
ministers  retained  not  a  little  power  over  the  common 
mind,  accustomed  to  an  entire  and  unquestioning  sub- 
jection for  many  centuries  ;  and  this  especially,  as 
they  were  proclaimed  and  insisted  on  by  the  advocates 
of  Rome  with  all  the  art  and  ardor  and  strength  of 
men  skilled  in  argument  and  fond  of  rule,  who  felt 
that  they  were  in  great  danger  of  losing  their  author- 
ity and  its  emoluments  forever.  Doctrines  and  prac- 
tices, upon  which  a  well-taught  child  in  a  pious  family 
or  Sunday-school  can  now  pronounce  correctly,  were 
then  subjects  of  angry  and  protracted  dispute  between 
learned  and  eminent  men  in  halls  of  universities,  and 
in  councils  summoned  by  princely  and  imperial  com- 
mand ;  and  how  partially  truth  prevailed  over  error,  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  the  greater  part  of  Europe  fell 
back  from  the  alarm  of  controversy  to  a  more  servile 
awe  of  the  monstrous  superstition  than  before.  At 
this  hour  the  adherents  to  these  destructive  errors  con- 
siderably outnumber  all  others  who  profess  themselves 
Christians ;  and  as  some  think  sacred  prophecy  warns 
us  of  a  desperate  attempt  again  to  subjugate  the  world 
l)y  the  iron  yoke  of  their  intolerant  supremacy,  it  is, 
therefore,  not  wise  for  us  so  to  overlook  the  falsity  of 
such  pretensions  as  to  remain  ignorant  of  the  scriptural 
arguments  by  which  they  may  be  refuted,  and  our 
Protestant  faith  intelligently  confirmed.  These  re- 
marks are  particularly  applicable  to  the  subject  of  our 
lesson  for  to-day. 


A  key  being  the  instrument  by  which  a  door  is 
opened  or  shut,  he  who  has  the  key  has  the  power  of 
admitting  or  excluding.  Hence,  it  is  very  naturally 
used  as  a  figure  to  signify  the  prerogative  of  conferring 
or  withholding  privileges,  as  in  a  state  or  society.  Of 
this  we  have  a  notable,  though  not  solitary,  example  in 
Scripture,  where  our  Lord  says  to  the  apostle  Peter, 
after  his  memorable  confession,  "  Thou  art  Peter,  and 
upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church ;  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  And  I  will  give 
unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven:  and 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in 
heaven ;  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall 
be  loosed  in  heaven  "  (Matt.  xvi.  18,  19).  It  is  upon 
this  text,  as  you  know,  that  the  Papists  ground  their 
claim  for  the  supreme  and  infallible  dominion  of  the 
Pope,  as  the  alleged  successor  of  St.  Peter  in  things 
spiritual,  and,  in  truth,  things  temporal  so  far  as  they 
can  be  made  contingent  upon  the  interest  of  the  church 
over  which  he  presides.  Peter,  say  they,  was  the  rock 
on  which  Christ  founded  the  true  church.  Peter  was 
bishop  of  Rome;  therefore  each  successive  bishop  of 
Rome  derives  the  same  fundamental  relation  to  the 
church,  and  no  one  who  does  not  so  rest  his  faith  on 
the  authority  of  Christ  so  delegated  to  the  Pope  is  a 
member  of  the  true  church.  In  like  manner  they 
argue,  that,  as  our  Lord  gave  to  Peter  the  authority  to 
admit  into  his  kingdom,  which  is  his  church,  and  to 
exclude  or  expel  from  it,  promising  to  ratify  in  heaven 
what  the  apostle  did  on  earth,  binding  what  he  bound, 
and  loosening  what  he  loosed  (that  is,  condemning  for 
sin  or  absolving  from  sin),  so  the  bishop  of  Rome,  or 
Pope,  being  the  successor  of  Peter,  is  the  vicegerent 


350 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS.       [Lect.  XXXIX. 


of  Christ  on  earth,  whose  sentences  of  absolution  or 
condemnation,  finally  pronounced,  have  infallible  au- 
thority in  heaven.  Now,  if  we  allow  their  view  of  the 
text  cited,  their  inference  must  be  allowed,  and  we  can- 
a<it,  without  fatal  disloyalty  to  Christ,  refuse  entire 
subjection  to  the  Pope. 

But  let  us  sift  this  interpretation  and  argument  of 
theirs.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  far  from  certain,  nay, 
very  improbable,  that  the  apostle  Peter  was  ever  bishop 
of  Rome.  It  is  even  doubted  by  many  learned  inves- 
tigators that  he  ever  was  at  Rome  at  all.  The  traces 
of  his'  special  presidency  over  the  particular  church 
of  Rome,  if  there  be  any,  are  exceedingly  obscure; 
whereas,  if  such  stupendous  interests  depend  on  the 
alleged  fact,  it  is  fair  to  believe  that  God  would  have 
put  it  beyond  doubt.  Certainly,  there  is  no  allusion  to 
anything  of  the  kind  in  the  Scriptures ;  on  the  contrary, 
tM  care  of  the  church  of  Rome  was  presidentially 
assigned  rather  to  the  apostle  Paul,  as  appears  from  his 
epistle  to  that  church  and  his  residence  there  after  his 
appeal  to  Caesar.  Paul,  also,  declares  that  the  gospel 
of  circumcision  was  unto  Peter,  which  implies  that  his 
mission  was  especially  to  the  Jews,  while  the  apostle- 
ship  of  the  uncircumcision  was  committed  to  himself, 
that  he  should  go  unto  the  Gentiles  (Gal.  ii.  7-10), 
for  wMch  reason  Paul,  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  says  :  "  I  speak  unto  you.  Gen- 
tiles, inasmuch  as  I  am  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  I 
magnify  mine  office  ; "  from  which  it  would  appear 
that  any  pretension  of  Peter  to  special  authority  over 
tlie  Gentile  church  of  Rome  was  an  intrusion  within 
the  sphere  appointed  to  the  apostle  Paul. 

But  we  go  farther,   and  assert,  on  a  collation  of 


Lect.  XXXIX.]      THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS.  351 

scriptural  passages,  that,  so  far  from  any  primacy  in 
the  apostleship  having  been  assigned  to  Peter,  what- 
ever prerogatives  were  given  him  were  given   to  all 
the  apostles  in  common.     Thus,  was  Peter  a  rock  on 
which  Christ  built  his  church  ?     So  were  all,  for  Paul 
says  (Ephes.  ii.  20),  that  the  church  was  built  on  "  the 
foundation  of  the  prophets  and  apostles,"  "  Jesus  Christ 
himself "  alone   having  a  far  excelling   distinction  as 
"  the  chief  corner-stone  ";    and  the  apostle  John,  in 
the  Revfelation,  describing  the  church  as  a  city,  says 
that  the  wall  of  it  "  had  twelve  foundations,  and  in 
them  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  were  written  " 
(xxi.  14).     Besides,  the  office  of  the  apostles  as  the 
foundation,  with  the  prophets,  lay  in  their  inspired  tes- 
timony of  the   truth  concerning  Christ,  and  therefore 
ceased  when  their  testimony  ceased,  so  that  in  this  re- 
spect the  apostles  had  not,  and  could  not  have  had,  any 
successor  at  Rome,  or  anywhere.     If  Peter  was  sent 
of  Christ  with  power  of  the  keys,  that  is,  to  retain  or 
remit  sins,  so  were  they  all,  for  our  Lord  after  his  res- 
urrection said  to  them :  "  As  my  Father  hath  sent  me, 
even  so  send  I  you.     And  when  he  had  said  this,  he 
breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the 
Holy  Ghost :  whosesoever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  re- 
mitted unto  them  ;    and  whosesoever   sins  ye  retain, 
they  are  retained  "  (John  xx.  21-23).      Thomas,  it 
may  be  observed,  was  not  then  present ;    but  as  he 
was  afterwards  with  the  other  ten  when  they  received 
the  final  and  general   commission  of  apostleship,  we 
need  not  doubt  of  his  having  had  the  same  authority 
as  the  rest.     Nay,  Paul  was  himself  the  first  protes- 
tant  against  the  primacy  of  Peter,  when,  asserting  his 
prerogative  to  rule  the  Corinthian  church,  he  says  :  "  I 


352 


im  .GOITER  OF  THE  KEYS.       [Lect.  XXXIX. 


suppose  [or,  I  reason]  I  W«s  not  a  whit  behind  the  very 
chiefest  apostles  "  (2  Cor.  xi.  5)  ;  and  on  one  critical 
occasion  he  "  withstood  Peter  to  the  face,  because  he 
was  to  be  blamed  "  (Gal.  ii.  11).  So  shall  we  with- 
stand any  pretended  successor  of  Peter,  if  he  teach 
any  other  gospel  than  that  which  Paul,  our  apostle, 
taught.  Peter  had  this  precedency,  and  no  more,  that 
his°preaching  at  the  Pentecost  was'  instrumental  in 
adding  the  first  converts  from  Judaism,  and  afterwards 
completing  the  organization  of  the  Christian  church 
by  the  addition  of  the  Gentile  elements,  necessary  to 
**  the  one  new  man  "  in  Christ  (Gal.  ii.  11-16),  when 
he  baptized  Cornelius  (Acts  x.  xi.  18). 

But,  as  we  have  hinted  before,  the  apostles  had  no 
successors  in  the  full  degree  of  apostleship,  nor  can  the 
words  of  the  text  under  consideration  be  applied  in 
anything  Hke  their  full  sense  to  any  one  after  them  in 
the  church.     Our  Lord  sent  his  apostles  forth  as  he 
had  been  sent  by  his  Father,  which  was  with  power  on 
earth  to  forgive  sins,  and  with  extraordinary  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  including  power  to  confer  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  upon  others.     This  commission  to  them 
was  indicated  and  attested,  as  his  commission  from  the 
Father,  by  the  power  of  working  miracles.     Where 
this  seal  and  evidence  is  wanting,  it  is  clear  that  the 
full  commission  has  not  been  transmitted  by  any  suc- 
cession.    But  as  no  pope  or  bishop  or  priest  has  this 
miraculous  energy,  none  of  them  are  fully  successors 
of  the  apostles.     It  follows  that  our  Lord's  address  to 
Peter,  or  his  subsequent  commission  to  them  all,  em- 
braced some  powers  not  transmissible,  for  the  exercise 
of  which  they  were  peculiarly  fitted.     Now,  as  they 
were  appointed  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  church  on 


Lect.  XXXIX.]      THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS.  353 

the  chief  corner-stone,  Christ   Jesus,  and  they  were 
governed  from  within  by  a  peculiar  degree  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  they  may  very  well  be  supposed  to  judge  infal- 
libly, when  necessary,  of  what  was  in  men,  so  as  to 
make  no  error  in  admitting  them  to  the  church  or  ex- 
cluding them  from  it,  and  in  pronouncing,  as  our  Lord 
did  infallibly,  the  remission  or  retention  of  sins.    There- 
fore  it  was   literally  true  that  whatever  they,  when 
exercising  their  apostolical  authority,  bound  on  earth, 
or  loosed  on  earth,  would  be  bound  or  loosed  in  heaven! 
Christ  on  his  throne  would  certainly  ratify  what  his 
Spirit  in  the  apostles  did  on  earth.     But  the  same  con- 
firmation cannot  be  presumed  of  any  uninspired  men, 
claiming  to  be  their  successors.     Any  such  claim  for 
them  is  a  blasphemous  assumption  of  Christ's  discern- 
ment and  authority.     Hence  the  assumptions  of  the 
Pope  to  open  and  shut  heaven,  and  to  forgive  or  retain 
the  guilt  of  sin,  is  worse  than  vanity  and  arrogance. 

But  a  very  urgent  question  here  arises,  which  our 
church,  professing  to  declare  by  the  Catechism  the  full 
doctrine  of  Christ,  is  not  at  liberty -to  shun.     Was 
Christian  government,  and,  especially,  discipline,  so  re- 
stramed  in  the  hands  of  the  apostles,  that,  after  their 
divinely  directed  office  ceased  on  earth,  it  ceased  to  ex- 
ist ;  or,  if  it  continued,  to  whom  was  it  committed  ?  Vol- 
umes of  dispute  have  been  written  in  all  ages  of  the 
church  on  these  points,  and  with  every  variety  of  opin- 
ion; but  all  the  inquiries  properly  refer  for  considera- 
tion m  the  premises  to  that  striking  passage  in  Matthew, 
(xvni.  15-20,)   where  our  Lord,  speaking  of  quarrels 
between  brethren,  and  having  enjoined  first  private  and 
gentle  methods  of  attempting  reconciliation,  adds:  "Tell 
It  unto  the  church,  and  if  he  (the  other  party  in  the  case) 

VOL.  II.  23 


354 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS.        [Lect.  XXXIX. 


neglect  to  hear  the  church,  let  him  be  unto  thee  a 
heathen  man  and  a  publican.  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
whatsoever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in 
heaven,  and  whatsoever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth  shall 
be  loosed  in  heaven  [the  identical  words,  with  the  ex- 
ception that  the  singular  pronoun  is  changed  to  the 
plural,  showing  that  the  promise  to  Peter  was  not  ex- 
clusive]. Again  I  say  unto  you,  that  if  any  two  of 
you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching  anything  that  they 
shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  my  Father  which 
11  ill  heaven.  For  where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them." 
These  two  verses  (19,  20)  are  evidently  parts  of  the 
paragraph  relating  to  discipline,  and  are  to  be  consid- 
ered in  its  exposition.  We  have  here,  then,  three 
things  to  settle  :  First,  To  whom  were  these  words 
addressed  ?  Secondly,  What  is  meant  by  the  church  ? 
Thirdly,  To  what  extent  and  in  what  manner  (if  any) 
are  these  promises  applicable  beyond  the  apostles  ? 

As  to  the  address,  it  will  be  seen  on  reference  to  the 
chapter  that  our  Lord  was  speaking  to  his  disciples,  or 
his  future  apostles  (compare  Mark  ix.  33  ;  Luke  ix. 
46 ;  xxii.  24-30  ;  John  xiii.  12-17),  who  were  under 
the  prejudice  of  Jewish  notions  concerning  Messiah's 
kingdom.  The  commands  and  the  promises,  therefore, 
were  primarily  to  the  inspired  apostles  ;  and  upon  this 
Paul  acted  iii  a  case  of  discipline  at  Corinth  (1  Cor.  v. 
1-5),  where,  though  evidently  claiming  his  apostolical 
authority,  he  yet  directs  the  church  to  proceed  to  con* 
demnation  in  his  absence,  he  confirming  their  decision 
beforehand:  "For  I  verily,  as  absent  in  body,  but 
present  in  spirit,  have  judged  already,  as  though  I  were 
present,  concerning  him  that  hath  so  done  this  deed  ; 


Lect.  XXXIX.]       THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS.  355 

In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  when  ye  are 
gathered  together,  and  my  spirit,  with  the  power  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,*  to  deliver  such  a  one  unto 
featan  for  the  destruction  of  the  flesh,  that  the  spirit 
may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus."     But 
though  the  address  was  primarily  to  the  inspired  apos- 
tles, we  may  believe,  and  in  this  all  parties  are  agreed, 
that  our  Lord,  in  giving  these  directions  to  them  as  the 
founders  of  his  church,  intended  to  mark  out  the  prin- 
ciples  of  action  for  the  church  in  all  ages  ;  which  view 
is  strengthened  by  the  fact  of  the  apostle  Paul's  asso- 
ciation with  himself  of  the  church  of  Corinth  in  the 
case  cited,  as  also  by  the  address  of  the  same  apostle 
to  the  elders  of  Ephesus  (Acts  xx.  28),  and  of  the 
apostle  Peter  to  the  elders  generally,  in  both  of  which 
they  are  expected  to  take  faithful  care  of  the  church 
the   oversight    (undoubtedly  including   discipline)   of 
which  was  committed  unto  them  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
What  then  is  meant  by  «  the  church  "  ?     Church  is 
a  Greek  term,  and  therefore  had  not  been  used  by  the 
Jews  in  tlieir  polity;  and  though  under  the  inspiration 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  it  was  afterwards  given  to  the  flock 
of  Christ,  the  Christian  church  was  not  formally  estab- 
lished until  after  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost    the 
Jewish  economy  being  still  in  force.     Under  that'  sys- 
tem we  know  that  ultimate  discipline  of  offenders  was 
m  the  hands  of  the  assembly  of  elders,  or  Sanhedrim,  as 
they  called  it.     Did  our  Lord  refer  his  immediate  dis- 
c.ples  to  that  tribunal  ?     The  supposition  is  not  mon- 
strous, since  he  himself  submitted  to  trial  by  the  San- 
hedrim, and  protested  only  against  the  flagrant  illegality 


356 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS.       [Lbct.  XXXIX. 


Lect.  XXXIX.]       THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS. 


357 


of  their  proceedings.  Or  did  he  refer  in  advance  to 
the  future  church,  in  language  not  understood  by  the 
disciples  at  the  time,  but  which  would  be  understood 

%that  church  for  whose  benefit  in  all  ages  his  sacred 
words  are  recorded  ?     This  opinion  seems  not  unrea- 
sonable, as  our  Lord  shows  a  similar  anticipation  of 
phraseology  when  he  exhorts  his  disciples,  before  they 
knew  that  he  was  to  be  crucified,  to  "  take  up  their 
cross  Und  follow  him  " ;  for  although  that  expression 
probably  was  in  proverbial  use  among  the  Jews,  it  had 
undoubtedly  in  our  Lord's  mind  a  force  which  the 
whole  church  has  subsequently  given  it,  as  sympathy 
with  his  death  on  the  cross.     We,  therefore,  hold  that 
the  counsel  given  to  tell  matters  of  dispute  between 
Christian  brethren,  or  of  offence  against  the  morals  of 
our  holy  profession,  should,  when  more  gentle  methods 
of  composition  fail,  be  told  to  the  church,  and  submit- 
ted to  them  for  decision  ;  —  not  necessarily  the  whole 
church,  or  the  whole  of  a  particular  church,  (for  we 
know  that  some,  and,  ordinarily,  the  larger  portion  of 
a  church,  are  forbidden  to  speak  in  the  church,  and  so 
have  no  voice  in  the  church  court,)  but,  as  the  Jewish 
church  was  represented  by  the  court  of  elders,  and  as 
elders  to  "  rule  over  "  were  appointed  in  the  apostolical 
churches,  this  function  of  oversight,  or  government, 
may  be  very  well  committed  to  their  hands,  by  which 
much  confusion  and  unnecessary  scandal  are  avoided ; 
and,  therefore,  such  a  system  of  government  and  disci- 
pline, by  a  body  of  elders  elected  by  the  members  of 
each  church,  has  been  adopted,  and  prevails  in  all  our 
Reformed  churches. 

These  points  being  settled,  our  third  question  recurs : 
To  what  extent  and  in  what  manner  are  the  promises, 


primarily  directed  to  the  inspired  apostles,  applicable 
to  the  church,  since  their  day,  in  its  exercise  of  disci- 
pline ?     It  is  obvious  that  there  must  be  some  restraint 
of  them,  if  not  modification.     For  the  apostles,  when 
under  plenary  inspiration  as  the  appointed  and  miracu- 
lously accredited   ministers  of  Christ  in  the  absolute 
government  of  the  church,  had  such  divine  discern- 
ment and  impartiality  that  their  judgment  was  infal- 
lible ;    and,   therefore,   Christ   certainly  confirmed   in 
heaven  what   they,  by  his   authority  and   under  his 
guidance,  ordered  on  earth.      But,  though  the  grace 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  has  been  promised,  and  has  been,  as 
it  will  be,  given  to  all  Christians,  and  Christ  has  prom- 
ised to  be  "  in  the  midst  of  them,"  especially  when  met 
together  in  his  name,  such  inspiration  is  not  plenary,  or 
such  guidance  thorough,  as  in  the  case  of  the  apostles. 
On  the  contrary,  every  Christian  knows  that,  from  the 
weakness    of  his   understanding   and   heart,   and    the 
temptations  of  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  he  is 
constantly  prone  to  error,  misjudgment,  and  uncharita- 
bleness ;  nay,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  does  not  preserve 
him  from  such  ignorance  and  sin,  except  so  far  as  he 
purifies  his  heart  and,  using  all  the  means  of  grace,  acts 
in  the  spirit  of  Christ,  according  to  the  word  of  Christ, 
and  singly  for  the  glory  of  Christ.     This  must  also  be 
true  of  the  church  or  eldership  of  the  church  when 
administering  Christian  discipline.     Christ  will  confirm 
in  heaven  whatever  they  do  in  accordance  with  his 
word  and  Spirit;    but  it  is  preposterous  to  say  that 
he  will  confirm  the  erroneous  or  illegal  acts  of  his  ser- 
vants, though  they  profess  to  act  in  his  name.     There 
must  be,  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  technicality,  appeal 
from  the  fallible  court  below  to  the  infallible  judge 


If 


368 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS.      [Lect.  XXXIX. 


Lect.  XXXir.]      THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS. 


359 


'1 


on  the  throne  of  heaven.  Yet,  until  that  appeal  be 
tried  and  pronounced  upon,  it  becomes  all  good  Chris- 
tians to  bow  before  the  tribunal  constituted  by  Christ 
on  earth.  So  far,  then,  as  Christian  discipline  is 
administered  according  to  the  law  of  Christ,  by  the 
church  on  earth,  it  will  be  confirmed  by  Christ,  the 
only  head  of  the  church,  in  heaven. 

We  should  here  add,  by  way  of  cautionary  infer- 
ence, that  such  prerogative  of  ministerial  judgment, 
having  been  committed  to  the  church,  as  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  which  is  not  of  this  world,  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  church  is  positively  restricted  to  matters  purely 
spiritual,  all  others  being  left  to  extra-ecclesiastical  au- 
^orities,  or  what  the  apostle  terms  *'  the  powers  that 
be."  Our  Lord,  it  will  be  remembered,  refused  to 
settle  a  matter  of  inheritance,  saying,  "  Who  made  me 
ft  judge  or  divider  over  you  ?  "  And  when  asked  to 
decide  a  political  question,  refused  to  answer  farther 
than  to  say,  "  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  which  are 
Caesar's,  and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's  "  ; 
while  on  another  occasion,  though  privately  protesting 
the  right  of  "  the  children  "  to  be  "  free,"  he  wrought 
a  miracle  to  procure  means  for  th§  payment  of  tribute 
to  the  foreign  oppressor  who,  in  divine  providence,  held 
rule  over  his  country.  It  is,  therefore,  clearly  against 
the  example  of  our  divine  head  to  bring  questions  of 
property  or  temporal  politics  into  church  courts.  They 
have  no  right  to  adjudicate  them. 

So,  also.  Christians,  in  their  private  capacity,  or  oth- 
erwise than  for  the  administration  of  Christian  disci^ 
pline,  are  debarred  from  the  exercise  of  open  censure 
or  personal  condemnation  of  their  brethren,  and  are 
liable  in  attempting  such  annoyance  to  condemnation 


themselves  by  him  who  has  said,  "  Judge  not,  that  ye 
be  not  judged." 

But  it  equally  follows  that  the  prerogative  of  judg- 
ment in  religious  matters  belongs  to  the  church  alone, 
and  that  neither  the  civil  power  nor  any  body  of  men 
(not  a  church)  have  anything  to  do  with  such  matters ; 
and  if  any  such  presume  to  take  them  into  their  hands, 
they  are  guilty  of  profanely  obtruding  themselves  on 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  No  greater  mischiefs  have 
happened  to  church  and  to  state  than  have  arisen  from 
such  unchristian  and  wicked  confusion  of  things  spirit- 
ual with  things  temporal,  —  things  ecclesiastical  with 
things  political.  In  this  country,  for  the  first  time  since 
history  began  its  records,  the  providence  of  God  has 
ordered  that  constitutional  law  should  unite  with  the 
word  of  God  in  severing  the  religion  of  Christ  from 
the  civil  government ;  and  it  behooves  all  true  disciples 
of  Christ  to  be  very  careful  how,  on  their  part,  they  do 
not  transcend  their  sphere,  lest,  as  will  inevitably  be 
the  case,  they  provoke  the  world  to  interfere  with  the 
rights  of  the  church. 

We  can  now  see  how  and  why  the  section  for  the 
present  Lord's  Day  was  introduced  by  the  authors  of 
the  Catechism,  especially  as  they  were  so  rudely  pressed 
at  the  time  by  the  advocates  of  Popery.  The  Pope,  as 
the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  claimed  supreme  and  sole 
dominion  over  the  church,  and  bore  embroidered  on 
his  vestments  two  keys,  as  the  badge  of  his  power. 
Where,  asked  the  Papists  of  the  Protestants,  is  the 
right  of  ecclesiastical  government  ?  Who  has  the 
mystical  keys  which  open  and  shut  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  ?     To  this  the  Reformers  replied,  as  in  the 


360 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS.       [Lect.  XXXIX* 


answers  before  us  ;  That  the  right  of  government  was 
in  the  church,  constituted  and  governed  according  to 
the  word  of  Christ ;  and  that  the  two  keys  were  also 
in  the  hands  of  the  church  :  the  one,  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel,  by  which  those  who  believe  are  made 
heirs  of  heaven,  and  those  who  refuse  to  believe  are 
forever  excluded  from  its  glorious  blessedness ;  the 
oilier,  Christian  discipline,  which,  in  excommunicating 
the  gross  sinner  from  the  church  on  earth  and  in  restore 
ing  the  penitent,  if  administered  according  to  the  word 
and  spirit  of  Christ,  must  be  according  to  the  will  of 
Christ  in  heaven.  The  language  and  reasoning  of  the 
whole  section  are  so  very  plain  that  we  may  leave  them 
without  farther  comment. 

1.  How  infinitely  important  it  is  that  the  gospel  be 
preached  faithfully,  purely,  and  fully  !  It  is  the  voice 
of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  declar- 
ing unto  sinful  men  the  principles  on  which  the  Judge 
of  all  will  determine  our  eternal  state.  Those  who 
come  mthin  the  sound  of  the  preacher,  have  a  right  to 
hear  the  gospel  as  God  has  sent  it ;  because  their  eter- 
nal salvation  or  damnation  depends  on  the  manner  in 
which  they  regard  the  revelation  of  mercy.  If  the 
preacher  be  faithful  in  delivering  the  message,  as  an 
ambassador  for  Christ,  he  is  free  from  the  blood  of  all 
men  ;  if  he  be  faithless,  the  blood  of  his  hearers'  souls, 
dying  impenitent,  God  will  require  at  his  hands.  This 
thought,  but  for  the  assurance  of  God's  grace,  would 
have  overwhelmed  the  apostle  Paul ;  how  should  it 
make  his  uninspired  successors  humble,  reverent,  and 
zealous  !  Hear  what  he  says  :  "  For  we  are  unto  God 
a  sweet  savor  of  Christ,  in  them  that  are  saved,  and  in 
them  that  perish ;  to  the  one  we  are  the  savor  of  death 


Lect.  XXXIX.]      THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS. 


361 


unto  death,  and  to  the  other  the  savor  of  life  unto 
life.  And  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  For  we 
are  not  as  many,  which  corrupt  the  word  of  God  ;  but 
as  of  sincerity,  but  as  of  God,  in  the  sight  of  God  speak 
we  in  Christ." 

How  vast  is  the  responsibility  of  those  who  hear  the 
gospel  so  proclaimed  I  Upon  their  treatment  of  the 
word  hangs  their  everlasting  condition.  Every  time 
the  gospel  is  preached,  the  gate  of  heaven  is  flung  open 
and  they  are  invited  to  enter ;  every  time  they  turn 
away  unbelieving,  the  gate  of  heaven  is  shut  against 
them.     Dear  friends,  "take  heed  how  you  hear." 

2.  How  important  that  Christian  discipline  be  faith- 
fully and  religiously  maintained  !  The  officers  of  the 
church  are  charged  to  vindicate  the  character  of  the 
Christian  name  before  the  world.  They  are,  therefore, 
bound  to  disown  those  whose  lives  are  in  open  contra- 
>  diction  to  the  law  of  God.  The  duty  is  difficult,  much 
more  so  than  people  are  apt  to  think.  The  rule  of 
Christ  requires  at  least  two  witnesses ;  and  as  church 
courts  have  not  the  power  to  compel  the  attendance 
of  witnesses,  trial  is  often  impossible  even  where  the 
scandal  is  more  than  suspected.  But  so  far  as  in  them 
lies,  they  are  bound  in  fidelity  to  Christ,  to  the  offender, 
and  to  the  world,  for  an  unshrinking,  impartial,  and 
merciful  discharge  of  their  sacred  function. 

And  all  of  us  should  regard  such  an  oversight  by 
the  church  authority  as  a  blessing,  cheerfully  yielding 
ourselves  to  faithful  admonition,  and  submitting  oui-- 
selves  to  the  decision  of  those  who  are  set  over  us  in 
the  Lord,  by  the  paternal  love  of  God  and  the  grace 
of  Christ.     Amen. 


fl 


till 


: 


'  t 


LECTURE  XL. 


OF  THANKFULNESS. 


NECESSITY    OF    GOOD    WORKS. 


Il 


% 


THIKTY-SECOND  LORD'S  DAY. 
OF   THANKFULNESS. 

Quest.  LXXXVI.  Since,  then,  we  are  delivered  from  our  misery,  merely 
of  grace,  through  Christ,  mthout  any  merit  of  our  (rum,  why  must  we  still 
do  good  works  f 

Ans.  Because  Christ,  having  redeemed  and  delivered  us  by  his  blood, 
also  renews  us  b3'  his  Holy  Spirit  after  his  own  image,  that  so  we  may 
testify,  by  the  whole  of  our  conduct,  our  gratitude  to  God  for  his  bless- 
ings, and  that  he  may  be  praised  by  us;  also,  that  every  man  may  be 
assured  in  himself  of  his  faith  by  the  fruits  thereof ;  and  that  by  our 
godly  conversation  others  may  be  gained  to  Christ. 

Quest.  LXXXVII.  Cannot  they  then  be  saved,  who,  continuing  in  their 
wicked  and  ungrateful  lives,  are  not  converted  unto  God? 

Ans.  By  no  means;  for  the  Holy  Scripture  declares  that  no  unchaste  per- 
son, idolater,  adulterer,  thief,  covetous  man,  drunkard,  slanderer,  rob- 
ber, or  any  such  like  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God. 

rPHE  purpose  of  religion  being  to  cultivate  our  sense 
-*-  of  obligation  to  God,  and  thereby  to  make  us  more 
like  our  divine  Father  in  the  practice  of  those  duties  he 
has  enjoined,  it  follows  that  no  scheme  of  religious  doc- 
trine or  worship  can  be  true  which  has  not  such  eflPect 
upon  the  hearts  and  lives  of  all  who  sincerely  receive 
it.  Such  evidence  of  its  authenticity,  or  divine  origin, 
is  especially  demanded  of  the  Christian  religion,  which, 
on  the  one  hand,  declares  our  native  inability  to  serve 
God  aright,  and,  on  the  other,  offers  us  the  blessedness 
of  his  favor  for  time  and  eternity  only  through  the 
merits  of  Christ  in  gracious  answer  to  our  faith.  The 
original  constitution  under  which  man  was  placed,  un- 
doubtedly ordered  that  he  should  be  rewarded  for  his 
own  righteousness  or  punished  for  his  own  unrighteous- 


1 


I  t 


:     if 


366 


OF  THANKFULNESS. 


[Lbct.  XL. 


d 


ness,  — righteousness  and  unrighteousness  being  synon- 
ymous with  obedience  and  disobedience  to  God.  This 
is  clearly  set  forth  by  the  apostle  Paul  (Romans  ii.  6- 
11) :  "  Who  [{,  e,  God  the  Judge]  will  render  to  every 
man  according  to  his  deeds :  to  them  who  by  patient 
continuance  in  well-doing  seek  for  gloiy,  honor,  and 
fmmoptality,  eternal  life ;  but  unto  them  that  are  con- 
tentious, and  do  not  obey  the  truth,  but  obey  unright- 
eousness, indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  an- 
guish upon  every  soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil,  —  of  the 
Jew  first,  and  also  of  the  Gentile ;  but  glory,  honor,  and 
peace  to  every  man  that  worketh  good,  —  to  the  Jew 
first,  and  also  to  the  Gentile ;  for  there  is  no  respect  of 
persons  with  God."  Such  a  system  at  once  commends 
itself  to  our  reason.  It  is  right  that  a  man  should  be 
treated  as  he  deserves.  We  can,  also,  see  that  the  legit- 
imate effect  of  such  a  system  should  be  to  restrain  men 
firom  evil  and  move  them  to  do  right.  It  must,  more- 
over, be  unchangeable,  because  eternal  justice,  the  per- 
fect consistency  of  God  with  himself,  requires  that  his 
favor  should  be  the  reward  of  righteousness  only,  his 
wrath  the  punishment  of  unrighteousness  only.  The 
gospel,  so  far  from  abrogating  this  constitution,  vindi- 
cates it  in  every  particular.  Nay,  the  sole  end  of 
Christ's  mediation  was  to  justify  God  in  taking  to  him- 
self preeminent  glory  by  the  salvation  of  sinners  who 
believe  in  Christ.  Christ,  the  second  Adam,  takes  the 
place  of  the  first,  on  behalf  of  all  the  seed  of  faith, 
suffers  for  them  the  penalty  due  their  disobedience, 
renders  for  them  a  perfect  obedience,  —  so  obtaining  for 
them  by  the  infinite  merit  of  his  substitution  entire 
absolution  from  guilt,  and  a  gracious  title  to  fiill  divine 
favor* 


Lect.  XL.] 


OF  THANKFULNESS. 


367 


This  is  not  the  place  to  argue  the  propriety  of  vi- 
carious atonement,   or  the   imputation  of  our  sins  to 
Christ  and  the  imputation   of  Christ's  righteousness. 
God  sufficiently  demonstrates  it  in  his  holy  word,  and 
we  have  rehearsed  his  demonstration  in  several  lectures 
already.     But  it  does  behoove  us  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion, l?ow  by  such  an  arrangement  the  repentance  of 
the  sinner  so  saved,  his  reformation  from  disobedience  to 
obedience,  is  brought  about  ?  for  unless  such  a  change 
in  the  sinner,  pardoned  and  blest,  be  secured,  the  end 
of  religion  is  lost,  and  Christ  made,  as  our  apostle  ex- 
presses it,  "  a  minister  of  sin."     The  opponents  of  the 
doctrine  of  free  grace,  of  justification  by  faith  alone, 
(they  are  identical,  being  two  forms  of  expressing  the 
same  thing,)  press  upon  us  as  they  think  a  serious  diffi- 
culty, as  if  we  took  away  from  before  the  sinner  all 
motive  to  do  right  and  abstain  from  wrong.     We  and 
our  Reformed  church  here,  out  of  tlie  word  of  God, 
contend  in  reply,  that,  so  far  from  taking  away  our 
motives  to  do  right,  the  doctrine  of  grace  not  only  pre- 
serves those  which  spring  from  the  law,  but,  also,  adds 
those  of  a  far  more  influential  and  more  generous  char- 
acter ;  nay,  that,  instead  of  encouraging  or  even  tolerat- 
ing a  wilful  practice  of  sin,  the  gospel  expressly  with- 
holds from  all  wilful  transgressors  any  part  in  the  sal- 
vation by  Christ.    We  deny,  it  is  true,  that  good  works 
have  any  share  in  procuring  our  justification  with  God, 
but  we  assert  as  confidently,  that  they  certainly,  be- 
cause necessarily,  follow  the  justification  of  the  sin- 
ner through  faith  in  Christ,  or,  in  other  words,  that 
his  good  works  are  not  offered  to  merit  favor  with  God, 
but  as  evidences  of  gratitude  for  his  favor  already  con- 
ferred in  honor  of  Christ's  merits. 


S68 


Of  THANKFULNESS. 


[Lect.  XL. 


Lkct.  XL.] 


OF  THANKFULNESS. 


369 


©ur  Catechism,  in  its  lesson  for  the  first  Lord's  Day, 
taught  us  that  there  are  three  things  which  we  must 
know  in  order  to  our  enjoyment  of  the  comfort  in  life 
and  death  which  the  Christian  religion  alone  can  give  : 
first,  how  great  our  sins  and  miseries  are;  secondly, 
llow  we  may  be  delivered  from  all  our  sins  and  miseries  ; 
and  thirdly,  how  we  shall  express  our  gratitude  to  God 
&f  such  deliverance.  The  first  and  the  second  we 
have  already  treated  of  at  large.  We  are  now  to  treat 
of  the  third,  which  will  embrace  all  our  remaining 
expositions  of  the  Catechism.  For,  as  Van  der  Kemp 
and  other  commentators  on  our  book  have  pointed  out, 
this  third  part  of  the  Catechism  has  five  particulars. 
I.  The  necessity  of  good  works  (86th  and  87th  Ques- 
tions and  Answers).  II.  The  principle  from  which 
they  proceed,  conversion  (88,  89,  90).  III.  Their 
nature  (91).  IV.  Their  rule,  the  law  of  God  (92- 
115).  V.  The  means  of  performing  them,  prayer 
(116—129).     Our  subject  to-day  is  — 

The  Necessity  of  Good  Works  in  a  Christian. 

This  the  Catechism  argues,  in  the  first  place,  from 
'Urn  ^ects  of  that  renewing  grace  of  Christ  which  al- 
ways accompanies  his  pardoning  grace ;  and,  secondly, 
from  the  testimony  of  Scripture  that  none,  who  con- 
tinue in  wicked  lives,  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God. 

First  :  The  effects  of  that  renewing  grace  of  Christ 
which  always  accompanies  his  pardoning  grace. 

1.  What  is  this  renewing  grace  ? 

"  Christ,  having  redeemed  and  delivered  us  by  his 
blood,  also  renews  us  by  his  Holy  Spirit  in  his  own 
image." 

The  purpose  of  God  in  Christ  is,  undoubtedly,  to 
deliver  Ins  people,  or  all  who  believe  on  his  name,  from 


eternal  death,  which  is  the  just  punishment  of  their 
sms,  and  to  bring  them  again  into  favor  with  God. 
But,  as  has  been  repeatedly  shown,  deliverance  from 
punishment  is  a  small  part  of  that  salvation.     If  it 
went  no  farther,  the  mercy  shown  would  be  a  weak- 
ness, which  we  cannot  without  great  impiety  charge 
npon  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  —  a  mere  pity  for  the  sin- 
ner's  sufferings  without  regard  to  his  character.    Where, 
«ien,  were  the  use,  the  authority,  or  holiness  of  his  law  ? 
To  show  that  such  is  not  the  case,  he  not  only  insists 
on  the  repentance  of  every  one  who  would  enter  into 
Christ's  kingdom,  but,  as  an  article  of  the  covenant 
with  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  he  has  required 
that  Christ  should  also  be  the  judge  of  men  at  the  last 
day,  and  then  vindicate  the  justice  of  mercy  by  con- 
demnmg  all  the  impenitent,  or  all  who  wilfully  lead 
wicked  lives,  thereby  showing  that  they  have  no  part 
m  the  kingdom  of  grace. 

The  Father  has  given  to  Christ  his  people  as  the 
reward  of  his   mediatorial   righteousness,  but  on  the 
express  condition  that  they  might  be  "redeemed  from 
all  miquity,"  and  purified  as  "  a  peculiar  people,  zeal- 
ous of  good  works  " ;  and  so  agreeable  to  the  holy 
Saviour  is  this  condition,  that  such  a  change  in  the  sin- 
ner was  his  main  purpose  in  giving  himself  for  us. 
"  Ye  are  not  your  own,"  says  the  apostle,  "  for  ye  are 
bought  with  a  price ;  therefore  glorify  God  in  your  body 
and  spirit  which  are  God's."     Nay,  this  is  the  covenant 
which  the  Saviour  himself  makes  with  the  true  Israel :  * 
;'  I  will  put  my  laws  into  their  mind,  and  write  them 
m  their  hearts  ;  and  I  will  be  to  them  a  God,  and  they 
shall  be  to  me  a  people."    We  also  know  that  his  name 

was  called  "  Jesus  "  (Deliverer),  "  for  he  shall  save  his 
VOL.  II.  24 


OF  THANKFULNESS. 


[Lect.  XL* 


Lkct.  XL.] 


OF  THANKFULNESS. 


^ 


Hi 


people  from  their  sins."  The  texts  to  the  same  import 
are,  as  you  know,  very  numerous.  It  was  to  accom- 
plish this  purpose  that,  after  finishing  the  atonement, 
he  ascended  up  on  high  and  took  his  seat  at  the  right 
hand  of  God  as  a  "  Prince  and  a  Saviour,"  "  to  give 
repentance  to  Israel  and  forgiveness  of  sins."  For 
this,  also,  he  asks  and  receives  of  the  Father,  and  sends 
down  upon  his  people,  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  by  his  divine  power  regenerates,  converts,  enlight- 
ens, strengthens,  and  sanctifies  them  to  the  service  of 
God,  gradually,  but  in  the  end,  surely  and  completely. 
Thus  is  Christ  made  unto  us  "  wisdom,  and  righteous- 
ness, and  sanctification,  and  redemption."  The  grace 
of  pardon  and  the  grace  of  sanctification  always  go  to- 
gether. The  sanctification  is  the  sealing  of  the  pardon, 
and  the  earnest  of  the  perfect  redemption. 

Nay,  it  is  impossible  in  the  nature  of  things  that  it 
should  be  otherwise,  for  not  only  from  the  penal  enact- 
ments of  God,  but  also  from  the  connection  of  moral 
cause  and  effect,  misery  must  follow  wilful,  unrepented 
sin.  Christ  could  not,  (we  speak  it  with  reverence,) 
so  long  as  the  holy  God  is  the  blessed  God,  save  from 
misery  those  who  choose  to  go  on  in  the  ways  of  wick- 
edness, because  they  will  not  use  the  only  means  of 
happiness.  In  or  out  of  Christ,  there  is  no  peace,  there 
can  be  no  peace,  for  the  wicked. 

Besides,  the  believer  by  the  very  terms  of  the  re- 
demption is  united  to  Christ ;  he  is  made  one  with  him 
as  his  representative ;  and  the  union  with  Christ  is  so 
vital  and  personal,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  which  is  in 
Christ  the  head,  lives  and  reigns  in  all  his  members. 
Therefore,  as  the  Catechism  asserts,  he  is  renewed  after 
Christ's  own  image.    That  image,  or  likeness  of  Christ, 


371 


is  the  seal  of  the  Spirit  by  which  he  stamps  the  believ- 
er's soul  as  belonging  to  Christ.  So,  for  the  believer, 
to  live,  is  Christ;  he  lives  in  Christ,  with  Christ,  to 
Christ,  for  Christ.  Christ  is  formed  in  him,  —  "  Christ 
in  you,  the  hope  of  glory."  So  invariably  is  this  the 
case,  that  "  if  any  man  have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ," 
w  iich  is  the  spirit  of  holy  obedience  and  filial  love, 
"he  is  none  of  his." 

2.  a.  This  grace  of  the  Spirit  does  not  operate  in  us 
as  a  mere  force  or  impulse,  but  morally,  that  is,  accord- 
ing  to  the  laws  by  which  moral  creatures  are  governed 
Hence,  the  most  lively  gratitude  is  awakened  in  the 
soul  towards  God  for  our  redemption  from  eternal  death 
and  the  restoration  of  the  divine  favor  by  the  work  of 
Christ.     The  believer,  conscious  of  these  infinite  and 
inestimable  blessings,  asks,  "  What  shall  I  render  unto 
the  Lord  for  all  his  benefits  toward  me  ?  "     The  salva- 
tion has  been  all  of  grace, —  for  Christ's  sake,  without 
any  merit  of  ours ;  and,  for  the  same  reason,  nothing 
that  we  can  do  for  God  can  in  any  degree  be  a  repayt 
ment  of  his  kindness.    God,  who  has  given  us  all,  needs 
not  anything  at  our  hands.      Still,  and  so  much  the 
more,  the  believer  is  ardently  desirous  of  testifyino-  his 
thankfulness  by  more  than  feeling  or  words.     What 
then  will  be  most  acceptable  to  God  ?     What  is  it  he 
most  delights  to  see  in  his  children  ?     With  what  is  he 
most  pleased  in  his  Son  as  our  Surety,  and  for  the  sake 
ot  which  he  has  given  us  all  these  blessings  ?     It  is 
obedience,  the  honor  done  to  his  holy  law,  the  reflec- 
tion  of  his  holiness  in  the  life  of  his  servants.     This 
then   is  the  thank-offering  we  are  to  render  him.     Our 
whole  conduct  is  to  testify  by  its  submission  to  his  will 
and  the  doing  of  his  commands  how  strong,  stronger 


:Jt 


372 


OF  THANKFULNESS. 


[Lect.  XL« 


Lkct.  XL.] 


Of  THANKFULNESS. 


373 


\i 


than  any  other  motive,  is  our  sense  of  his  loving-kind- 
ness.    Thus  the  apostle,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
after  having  demonstrated  the  freeness  and  the  fulness 
of  salvation  b}'  Christ,  opens  the  practical  application 
of  the  doctrine  in  these  words  :  "  I  beseech  you,  there- 
fore, brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye  present 
your  bodies  [that  is,  our  whole  conduct  while  in  the 
body]    a  living  sacrifice,   holy,  acceptable  unto  God, 
which  is  your  reasonable  service."     So,  also,  we  read 
that  true  "  faith  worketh  by  love  "  (Gal.  v.  6)  ;  that 
ke  pnrifieth  the  hearts  of  his  people  by  faith  (Acts  xv. 
9)  ;  and  that  faith  is  the  victory  [or  the  victorious 
principle]  "  which  overcometh  the  world  "  (1  John  v. 
5).     It  works  by  love,  because  it  excites  this  gratitude 
in  the  heart ;  as  we  read :  "  The  love  of  Christ  con- 
straineth  us;  because  we  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died 
for  all,  then  were  all  dead ;  and  that  he  died  for  all, 
that  they  which  live  should  not  henceforth  live  unto 
themselves,  but  unto  him  which  died  for  them,  and  rose 
ao-ain  ; "  it  purifies  the  heart,  because  in  proportion  as 
love  for  Christ  occupies  our  affections,  every  impure 
desire  will  be  expelled  from  it ;  and  it  overcomes  the 
world,  because  all  that  the  world  has  to  tempt  us  will 
be  overcome  by  the  strength  of  this  love  for  Christ, 
who  calls  us  out  of  the  world  to  his  service. 

This  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the  whole 
scheme  of  our  redemption  is  for  the  greater  gloiy  of 
God,  and  that  his  glory  is  to  be  seen  in  the  marvellous 
change  of  sinners,  vile  and  lost,  to  holy,  faithful  chil- 
dren.  There  is  the  purpose  of  God  the  Father,  the 
reward  of  God  the  Son,  the  work  of  God  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  and  it  is  for  this  that  God  has  made  a  church 
for  himself  in  the  world.    So  the  apostle  Peter  reasons  ? 


"  Ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  an 
holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people,   that  ye  should  show 
forth  the  praises  of  him  who  hath  called  you  out  of 
darkness  into  his  marvellous  light."     A  godly  life  is 
the  homage  of  the  believer  to  the  God  of  salvation.    It 
is,  therefore,  impossible   that  any  one    who  truly  be- 
lieves in  Christ  as  his  Saviour,  should  not  be  desirous 
and  endeavor  to  do  good  works  for  the  praise  of  God. 
k  From  this  it  follows  that  we  are  to  judge  of  our 
faith  by  the  effects  it  has  on  our  hearts  and  lives.     We 
are  saved  by  faith,  —  that  is,  by  faith  and  through  faith 
we  become  partakers  of  Christ's  blessings  in  the  redemp- 
tion.    This  faith  assures  us  of  salvation  ;  but  the  Scrip- 
ture teaches  us  in  many  places  that  we  are  greatly  lia- 
ble to  be  deceived  in  this  most  important  matter.     The 
promises  of  God  cannot  deceive  us  :  it  must  be  certain 
that  he  who  believes  is  safe  ;  but  we  may  be  deceived 
as  to  the   reality  or  genuineness  of  our  faith   itself. 
There  is  a  spurious  faith,  or  a  persuasion  of  the  mind 
that  we  are  safe  in  Christ,  when  we  are  not,  but  are 
still  in  our  guilt.     The  New  Testament,  therefore,  and 
many  parts  of  the  Old,  insist  upon  our  taking  especial 
pains  to  certify  or  assure  ourselves  of  our  being  Chris- 
tians.    So  the  apostle  exhorts  us  to  examine  ourselves 
whether  we  be  in  the  faith.     That  is  the  thing  to  be 
ascertained :  for,  if  we  be  in  the  faith,  all  is  well ;  if  we 
be  not  in  the  faith,  all  is  wrong.     But  with  what  test 
shall  we  prove  or  try  ourselves  ?     How  may  we  know 
true  faith  from  false  faith  ?     The  Scripture  leaves  us  in  ' 

no  doubt  here.     "  Faith  without  works  is  dead 

For  as  the  body  without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  with- 
out  works  is  dead  also."  Unless  our  belief  be  a  living 
principle,  moving  us  to  good  works,  it  is  spurious ;  for 


874 


OS  THANKFULNESS. 


[Lect.  XL. 


Lkct.  XL.] 


OF  THAHKF0LNESS. 


875 


;l 


III 


our  Saviour  tells  us  that  "  not  every  one  that  saith  unto 
me  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven."  So,  not  to  multiply  texts,  the  Psalmist, 
when  asking  divine  help  in  his  self-examination,  prays  : 
"  Search  me,  O  God,  and  know  my  heart ;  try  me,  and 
know  my  thoughts  ;  and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked 
way  in  me  ;  and  lead  me  in  the  way  everlasting."  If 
our  faith  does  not  work  by  love,  if  it  does  not  purify 
our  hearts,  if  it  does  not  lead  us  to  overcome  the  world, 
it  IS  spurious ;  for  tili  assurance  of  faith,  as  our  Cate- 
.  chism  teaches,  consists  not  in  the  simple  persuasion  of 
the  mind  that  we  are  in  Christ,  but  in  the  evidences  of 
its  sanctifying  power.  So  the  believer  is  faithful  to 
maintain  good  works  that  he  may  be  assured  in  himself 
of  the  fruits  thereof. 

€*.  For  the  same  reason  that  the  believer  desires  to 
glorify  God  by  his  own  godly  life,  he  desires  that  other 
sinners  may  be  brought  to  glorify  him  also ;  and  the 
method  by  which  he  is  to  seek  the  satisfaction  of  his 
desire  is  very  obvious  :  "  Let  your  light  [that  is,  your 
faith  in  the  gospel]  so  shine  before  men  that  they  may 
see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is 
ill  heaven."  So  the  apostle  Peter :  "  Having  a  good 
conscience,  that  whereas  tliey  speak  evil  of  you,  as  of 
evil-doers,  they  may  be  ashamed  that  falsely  accuse 
your  good  conversation  in  Christ."  Again,  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  :  "  Let  us  hold  fast  the  profes- 
sion of  our  faith  without  wavering  (for  he  is  faithful 
that  promised)  ;  and  let  us  consider  one  another  to 
provoke  unto  love  and  to  good  works."  Our  blessed 
Lord  did  not  only  proclaim  his  mission  to  be  divnie, 
but  proved  it  to  be  so  by  his  miraculous  works  of  heal- 


ing and  life-giving  power.  All  those  works  were  sym- 
bolical of  his  gracious  works  in  the  salvation  of  souls 
from  death  and  sin.  His  miracles  of  healing  the  body 
ceased  when  their  purpose  was  accomplished ;  but  the 
greater  miracles  of  renewing  and  sanctifying  the  hearts 
and  Hves  of  sinners  will  continue  until  the  end  of  time 
to  prove  the  gospel  divine.  This  is  his  own  appointed 
method,  which  Christians  are  to  pursue  when  their 
gratitude  for  the  love  which  Christ  has  shown  their  own 
souls  moves  them  to  win  the  impenitent  from  the  ways 
of  sin,  and  to  animate  the  flagging  zeal  of  their  fellow- 
Christians  in  their  Master's  honor.  This  is  a  most  sol- 
emn consideration  for  us,  who  profess  the  religion  of 
Christ.  We  cannot  be  indifferent  to  the  practice  of 
others,  and  be  innocent.  Our  lives  should  be  constant 
testimonies  before  the  world  that  the  gospel  teaches  us 
to  do  justice,  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with 
God.  Nay,  we  should  give  this  testimony  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  winning  others  to  glorify  our  God  in  a 
religious  life. 

Thus  have  we  learnt  that  true  faith  is  the  means  by 
which  the  grace  of  Christ  brings  sinners  to  repentance, 
and  fits  believers  through  a  godly  practice  on  earth  for 
the  holy  blessedness  of  heaven ;  and  that  the  method 
by  which  faith  works  is  the  inclining  our  hearts  through 
a  grateful  love,  to  do  the  wull,  and  seek  the  glory  of 
our  God  and  Saviour.  Therefore,  though  we  are  saved 
by  grace  alone,  wholly  on  account  of  Christ's  merits, 
and  though  our  own  works  have  no  merit  in  the  sight 
of  God,  we  must  still  do  good  works  to  prove  our 
thankfulness,  to  advance  our  Saviour's  praise,  to  assure 
ourselves  that  our  faith  is  genuine,  and  to  persuade  our 
fellow-men  to  seek  the  same  salvation,  and  glorify  God 
by  a  Christian  life. 


I      ( 


II 


376 


OF  THANKFULNESS. 


[Lkct.  XL. 


1 1 


!•■ 


:  i'  ■ 


11 


Secondly  :  The  testimony  of  Scripture  that  none  who 
continue  in  wicked  lives  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God. 

This,  though  very  properly  repeated  for  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  truth,  is  but  a  repetition  of  the  previous 
argument,  and  needs  no  demonstration  other  than  the 
direct  testimonies  of  Holy  Scripture.  No  religious 
opinion  can  be  sound  which  tolerates  a  wilful  persever- 
ance in  known  sin.  The  gospel  was  sent  to  turn  men 
from  wickedness  to  the  service  of  God,  and  the  heaven 
which  it  promises  is  holy  and  pure,  receiving  into  its 
blessedness  none  who  love  sin.  It  is  as  true  now  as  be- 
fore Christ  came,  that  "  the  wicked  shall  be  cast  into 
hell  with  all  the  nations  who  forget  God."  God  will 
have  mercy  upon  all  who  truly  rely  on  Christ  for  salva- 
tion, but  the  main  part  of  that  salvation  is  deliverance 
from  the  power  of  sin.  Therefore,  none  truly  rely 
upon  Christ,  or  trust  in  his  mercy,  who  are  not  sin- 
cerely penitent,  and  who  do  not  earnestly  endeavor  by 
his  grace  to  follow  his  example. 

Beloved,  let  us  examine  ourselves  by  these  tests 
whether  we  be  in  Christ  or  not.  It  will  be  a  fearful 
thing  if,  after  professing  ourselves  Christians,  we  should 
fall  at  last,  because  of  our  neglects  or  our  vices,  into 
the  bitter  pains  of  eternal  death  ! 


LECTURE   XLI. 


THE  NATUEE  OP  TEUE  CONVEESION. 


FIRST  LECTURE. 


II 


1    i 


f ... 


THIRTY-THIRD  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE  NATURE   OF  TRUE  CONVERSION. 

(first  lecture.) 

Quest.  LXXXVIII.  Of  how  many  parts  doth  the  true  conversion  of  mem 
consist  f 

Ans.  Of  two  parts.  Of  the  mortification  of  the  old,  and  of  the  quicken- 
ing of  tlie  new  man. 

Quest.  LXXXIX.     What  is  the  mortification  of  the  dd  man  f 

Ans.  It  is  a  sincere  sorrow  of  heart  that  we  have  provoked  God  by  our 
sins;  and  more  and  more  to  hate  and  flee  from  them. 

Quest.  XC.     What  is  the  quickening  of  the  new  man  f 

Ans.  It  is  a  sincere  joy  of  heart  in  God,  through  Christ,  and  with  love 
and  delight  to  live  according  to  the  will  of  God  in  all  good  works. 

Quest.  XCI.     What  are  good  rwrks  ? 

Ans.  Only  those  which  proceed  from  a  true  faith,  and  are  performed  ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  God  and  to  his  glory ;  and  not  such  as  are 
founded  on  our  imaginations,  or  the  institutions  of  men. 

TN  our  lesson  for  the  last  Lord's  day  we  were  taught 
•*-  that  the  consequence  of  our  deliverance  from  misery 
by  the  grace  of  Christ  through  faith  is  our  doing  of  good 
works  as  the  fruits  of  a  lively  and  constraining  grati- 
tude, and,  therefore,  that  they  who  by  their  wilful 
continuance  in  wicked  lives  prove  their  not  having 
been  converted  unto  God,  can  have  from  the  doctrine 
of  the  gospel  no  true  hope  of  salvation.  It  follows, 
properly,  that  we  should  ascertain  what  true  conversion 
of  a  sinner  to  God  is,  or,  as  the  Catechism  has  it,  in 
what  true  conversion  consists,— the  knowledge  of  which 
will  discover  plainly  what  a  Christian  means  by  good 
works.  These  two  points  are  handled  in  the  lesson 
which  we  are  now  to  study. 


I'l 


u 


I 


* 


It 


4 


880        THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION.      [Lect.  XLL 

First  :  The  nature  of  true  conversion.  (88th,  89th, 
90th  Questions  and  Answers.) 

Secondly  :  The  nature  of  good  works,  (91st  Ques- 
tion and  Answer.) 

First  ;  The  nature  of  true  conversion. 

I,  The  purpose  of  God  in  the  gospel  being  to  deliver 
"  his  people  from  the  power  "  as  well  as  the  guilt  "  of 
their  sins,"  there  must  be  wrought  in  all  those  whb  are 
partakers  of  that  salvation,  a  radical  change  from  a  sin- 
ful to  a  holy  life.  This  transformation  will  be  complete 
in  the  fulness  of  the  redemption,  that  is,  when  the  be- 
liever is  taken  up  to  be  with  Christ,  his  Head  and  Fore- 
runner ;  but  on  earth  it  is  gradual,  though  surely  pro- 
gressive. This  process  we  commonly  call  sanctifica- 
tion.  There  must,  therefore,  be  a  beginning  of  this 
transformation  or  sanctification,  a  time  when  the  tide 
of  the  soul's  moral  life  is  turned  from  its  natural  ebb 
towards  eternal  death  and  flows  toward  heaven.  This 
act  of  change  we  call  conversion. 

Salvation  being  all  of  grace,  the  conversion  of  a  sin- 
ner from  sin  to  God's  service  must  be  from  a  sovereign, 
divine  power,  exerted  in  the  sinner's  soul,  changing  its 
principles  and  motives  of  conduct ;  but  as  the  operation 
of  grace  is  through  the  moral  faculties  of  free  agents, 
and  not  a  mere  force  impelling  us  against  our  will  and 
understanding,  the  pinner,  called  effectually  by  divine 
grace,  turns  himself  by  the  divine  strength  so  imparted 
to  him.  Conversion,  therefore,  is  indeed  accomplished 
by  the  grace  of  God,  but  it  is  also  the  act  of  the  sinner 
himself.  In  the  former  part  of  the  Catechism,  on  our 
Deliverance,  we  found  conversion,  or  the  change  from 
the  old  to  the  new  man,  among  the  "  benefits"  which 
we  **  receive  from  the  death  and  sacrifice  of  Christ  on 


Lect.  XLL]    THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION. 


381 


the  cross  "  (Question  43d),  and  there  we  treated  of  it 
as  the  act  of  God.  This  conversion  of  the  sinner  by 
God  is  also  called  by  Scripture  regeneration,  or  the 
begetting  again  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  with 
the  seed  of  the  word  (1  Peter  i.  23),  because  it  is  an 
imparting  of  a  new  moral  life  to  the  soul,  from  which 
holy  actings  will  proceed.  Here  we  find  conversion 
among  the  evidences  of  our  thankfulness  to  God  for 
having  "  delivered  us  from  the  power  of  darkness  and 
translated  us  into  the  kingdom  of  his  dear  Son." 
Hence,  we  are  now  to  consider  it  as  the  act  of  the 
sinner  under  the  influence  of  divine  grace. 

II.  The  Catechism  declares  this  true  conversion  to 
consist  in  two  parts.  1.  The  mortification  of  the  old 
man.     2.  The  quickening  of  the  new  man. 

Let  us,  before  proceeding  farther,  ascertain  the  mean- 
ing of  these  terms.  The  contrasted  expressions  "  old 
man  "  and  "  new  man  "  are  taken  from  Scripture.  The 
apostle  (Eph.  iv.  22-24)  says  :  "  That  ye  put  off*  con- 
cerning the  former  conversation  [conduct]  tlie  old  man, 
which  is  corrupt  according  to  the  deceitful  lusts,  and 
be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your  mind ;  and  that  ye 
put  on  the  new  man,  which  after  God  is  created  in 
righteousness  and  true  holiness  "  [holiness  of  truth]. 
Man,  here,  is  put  for  our  moral  nature :  "  the  old  man," 
for  the  nature  we  are  born  with,  —  whence  it  is  also 
called  "  the  natural  man  "  (1  Cor.  ii.  14)  ;  "  the  new 
man,"  for  the  holy  nature,  which  we  derive  from  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  regeneration,  —  whence  it  is  also  called 
"  spiritual."  We  inherit  the  first  from  the  first  Adam ; 
we  receive  the  second  by  faith  from  the  second  Adam, 
who  is  Christ.  "  Mortification  "  and  "  quickening  " 
are  also  scriptural  words.  •  Mortification  signifies,  liter- 


il 


' 


I 


#1 


I 


I 


\l 


\\Y 


*.« 


382 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION.    [Lect.  XLI. 


illy,  slaying  or  putting  to  death,  and  hence,  metaphori- 
cally, deadening.  "  If  ye  through  the  spirit  do  mortify 
^OavaTovTel  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live"  (Rom. 
Tii.  13).  "Mortify  [vcKpwo-aTc],  therefore,  your  mem- 
bers which  are  upon  the  earth  "  (Col.  iii.  5).  Quicken- 
ing is,  literally,  reviving,  or  making  alive  [Jo>o7rot€o)],  and 
hence  may  have  the  metaphorical  sense  of  strengthen- 
ing, or  increasing,  life.  Strictly  speaking,  only  God  can 
kill  the  old  man,  or  revive  —  make  to  life  —  the  new 
man ;  yet  here,  and  in  close  accordance  with  Scripture, 
the  believer  has  a  personal  agency  in  mortifying  the 
one  and  quickening  the  other.  We  are  taught,  also, 
that  the  mortification  of  our  old  nature  and  the  quick- 
ening of  our  new  nature  are  carried  on  by  the  believer 
simultaneously  in  the  continuous  process  of  conversion, 
or  transformation  ;  which  shows,  that,  though  the  new 
life  is  implanted,  it  is  not  immediately,  or  without  resist- 
ance, perfectly  paramount  in  the  soul,  but  is  opposed 
and  hindered  by  our  old  nature,  not  yet  utterly  killed, 
though  it  has  had  its  death-blow.  Conversion,  there- 
fare,  oil  nor  part,  is  a  struggle  or  conflict  which  the 
believer,  animated  by  the  grace  of  God  in  the  new  life, 
maintains  against  the  power  of  sin  "  which  still  remain- 
eth,  against  our  will,  in  us  ";  and  this  conflict,  though 
the  new  life  must  be  ultimately  victorious,  is  sharp  and 
often  with  various  alternations  or  vacillations  to  either 
side.  It  is  the  new  life  within  our  carnal  nature,  and, 
therefore,  opposed  and  impeded  by  the  lusts  and  infirm- 
ities of  our  fallen,  or  old  nature.  This  the  apostle 
describes  (Rom.  vii.  19-25)  :  "  The  good  that  I  would 
I  do  not ;  but  the  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I  do. 
Wow;  if  I  do  that  I  would  not,  it  is  no  more  I  that  do 
it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me.     I  find  then  a  law  [a 


Lbct.  XLL]    the  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION. 


383 


principle]  that  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present 
with  me.  For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the 
inward  man ;  but  I  see  another  law  in  my  members, 
warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind  and  bringing  me 
into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  mem- 
bers. O  wretched  man  that  I  am !  Who  shall  deliver 
me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?  I  thank  God  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  So,  then,  with  the  mind  I  my- 
self serve  the  law  of  God,  but  with  the  flesh  the  law  of 
sin."     We  are  now  prepared  to  inquire, 

1.  What  is  the  mortification  of  the  old  man ?  "It 
is  a  sincere  sorrow  of  heart,  that  we  have  provoked 
God  by  our  sins  ;  and  more  and  more  to  bate  and  flee 
from  them." 

A  sincere  sorrow  of  heart,  that  we  have  pro- 


a. 


voked  God  by  our  sins."     It  is  the  believer  who  has 
this  sorrow.     Though  he  is  now  forgiven,  and  is  enjoy- 
ing the  favor  of  God  here,  and  the  hope  of  eternal 
blessedness  hereafter,  he  is  for  that  very  reason  more 
sorrowful  on  account  of  his  offences  against  God.     He 
mourns  his  past  sins  and  his  present  failures,  not  be- 
cause he  dreads,  like  a  slave,  the  punishment  he  de- 
serves and  cannot  escape  from,  but  because  he  has  done 
such  grievous  wrong  against  the  holy  God,  who  is  so 
kind  and  merciful  to  his  soul  in  Christ  Jesus.     He 
acknowledges  his  desert  of  hellj  and  shudders  at  the 
terrible  danger  he  hopes  to  escape,  but  he  rather  sees 
in  the  agonies  of  the  eternal  death  the  infinite  proof  of 
God's  condemnation  of  such  sins  as  he  has  committed, 
—  the  estimate  God  has  of  its  abominable  evil.     He 
trusts  for  mercy  through  the  righteousness  of  Christ, 
the  ground  of  his  atonement  (or  reconciliation)  to  God ; 
but  the  infinite  means  provided,  because  necessary  for 


ill 


Ih 


ib 


li 


'' 


884  THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION.    [Lect.  XLI. 

his  redemption  in  the  humiliation,  painful  obedience, 
and  more  painful  sufferings  of  Christ  the.  Son  of  God 
incarnate,  convinces  him  yet  more  of  the  guilt  of  all 
sin,  while  they  increase  immeasurably  his  love  for  the 
God  he  has  offended,  and,  therefore,  his  sorrow  of  heart 
for  his  great  sins  against  his  heavenly  Father  and  best 
friend.     The  holiness  of  God  condemns  him,  the  right- 
eousness of  God's  law  condemns  him,  as  very  wicked 
and  degraded ;  but  the  love  of  God  and  his  unspeak- 
able mercy  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  deep  humiliation  and 
bitter  sufferings  of  his  Saviour,  the  long-suffering,  pa- 
tience, and  successful  perseverance  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  bringing  him,  notwithstanding  his  obstinate,  rebel- 
lious resistance,  into  salvation,  —  the  consideration  of 
these,  I  say,  show  him,  in  yet  darker  colors,  his  ex- 
treme  baseness   and   utter  inexcusableness.     He  sees 
that  it  was  his  sin,  with  that  of  others  like  himself, 
which  brought  the  dreadful  wrath  of  God  upon  Christ, 
his  surety  ;  that  all  his  healing  comes  from  the  stripes 
which  Christ  bore  in  his  stead,  and  all  his  hope  of  Hfe 
from  the  exquisite  agonies  of  his  incarnate  Lord  dying 
the  death  man  deserved  to  die.     Therefore,  when  with 
true  faith  he  looks  upon  Christ  as  his  Saviour,  and  sees 
in  his  Lord's  glorified  body  the  scars  of  the  crucifixion, 
he  remembers  all  that  Jesus  suffered  because  of  his 
guilt,  and  he  mourns  and  reproaches  himself  for  all  his 
sins.     He  sees,  also,  the  great  pains  the  blessed  Spirit 
has  taken  for  his  conversion,  in  giving  him  the  Holy 
Scripture,  and  all  the  other  means  of  grace,  with  oppor- 
tunities of  repentance ;  in  pursuing  him  by  arguments 
and  warnings  and  invitations  and  promises  ;  in  pressing 
the  truth  closely  home  upon  his  understanding  and 
heart  and  conscience ;  in  forcing,  as  it  were,  his  wav 


Lect.  XLI.]   THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION.    385 

into  his  soul,  enlightening  his  mind,  turning  his  affec- 
tions, and  graciously  overpowering  his  will,  and  now 
bringing  him  to  repentance  and  dwelling  within  him,  to 
move  and  strengthen  him  unto  those  good  works  which 
are  the  grateful  evidences  of  his  faith  in  Christ ;  and, 
therefore,  he  sees  the  enormous  wickedness  of  those  sins 
of  his  which  insulted  and  grieved  and  wounded  the  Holy 
Spirit  at  the  very  time  the  Holy  Comforter  was  striv- 
ing to  save  him ;  the  opportunities  he  despitefuUy  mis- 
improved  ;  the  obstinate  resistances  he  made ;  the  wilful 
breaking  through  of  restraints  which  he  was  so  often 
guilty  of ;  and,  even  now,  the  feeble  zeal  of  his  renewed 
mind  in  seconding  and  carrying  out  to  practice  the  re- 
ligious purposes  that  grace  has  inspired  him  with.  There 
is,  thus,  not  a  doctrine  or  fact  or  incident  of  the  salvation 
he  believes  to  be  his,  which  does  not  enhance  his  sorrow 
for  sin.   This  is  the  sorrow  which  is  the  sign  of  true  con- 
version, —  the  sorrow  for  sins  which  springs  from  an 
apprehension  (or  trustful  belief)  of  the  mercy  of  God 
in  Christ  Jesus  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Such 
sorrow  as  springs  only  from  a  fear  of  God's  wrath  on 
account  of  our  sins,  though  it  may  mingle  with  more 
gracious  motives  to  hate  sin,  is  no  proof  of  genuine 
repentance,  because  it  is  wholly  selfish,  and  does  not 
bring  us  back  to  the  love  of  God.     It  is  not  necessarily 
sinful,  nay,  as  we  have  said,  it  may  aid  in  moving  the 
sinner  to  repentance,  but  in  itself  it  is  no  proof  of  our 
conversion,  and  in  the  absence  of  reliance  upon  Christ 
it  is  the  reverse,  —  a  sorrow  that  worketh  death,  be- 
cause there  is  no  submission  of  the  heart  to  God.     But 
the  sorrow  which  comes  from  faith  in  Christ's  love 
kills  in  the  heart  our  enmity  to  God,  and  bows  us  at  the 
feet  of  God,  weeping  yet  loving  children. 

VOL.  II.  25 


.1 


!:  * 


386  THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION.    [Lect.XLI. 

4.  We  learn  that  this  sorrow  is  not  a  mere  senti- 
ment  or  emotion,  a  thing  of  sighs  and  tears  and  regrets, 
but  that  it  operates  as  an  energetic  principle,  makmg  us 
«•  hate  "  all  sin,  and  resolutely  "  to  flee  from  it."     How 
can  they  who  have  seen  how  odious  sin  is  m  God  s 
sights  continue  to  offend  him  by  wilfully  committing  it  ? 
How  can  they  who  have  seen  what  their  sins  brought 
upon  Christ,  inflict  fresh  wounds  on  his  love,  and  before 
the  world  "  crucify,  as  it  were,  the  Son  of  God  afresh 
and  put  him  to  an  open  shame  "  ?     How  can  they  who 
have  seen  that  sin  is  a  direct  insult  and  resistance  and 
grievance  to  the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  gracious  work  upon 
our  hearts,  throw  fresh  injuries  and  obstacles  in  his 
merciful  and  sanctifying  way  ?     The  believer,  there- 
fore, will  turn  from  sins  with  abhorrence,  he  will  hate 
them,  he  will  resist  temptation  to  them,  he  will  fly 
from  them  as  from  disgusting,  guilty,  perilous  enemies 
to  God  and  his  soul.     The  more  he  learns  of  God  in 
Christ,  the  more  he  enjoys  the  comforts  of  his  religion, 
the  more  will  he  hate  sin  and  fly  from  it.     Day  by  day, 
as  his  faith  strengthens,  will  he  "  mortify  "  "  the  old 
man,"  and  show  his  gratitude  to  God  in  Christ  by 
hating  all  that»God  hates,  and  avoiding  all  that  God 

has  forbidden. 

2.  The  quickening  of  the  new  man. 

"  It  is  a  sincere  joy  of  heart  in  God  through  Chri§t, 
and  with  love  and  delight  to  live  according  to  the  will 
o£  God  in  all  good  works." 

a.  A  sincere  joy  of  heart  in  God  through  Christ. 
'  If  any,  hearing  us  discourse  of  the  sorrow  and  self- 
condemnations    and   painful    strugglings,   temptations 
within  and  without  us,  which  accompany  repentance, 
suppose  that  conversion  to  God  is  only  a  melancholy 


Lect.  XLL]    THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION.  387 

and  grievous  temper,  clouding  our  life  in  gloom,  and 
making  our  religious   practice   an   afflictive   penance, 
they  need  farther  teaching  in  the  blessed  experience  of 
a  believing  soul.     As  the  "  old  man  "  and  the  "  new 
man  "  are,  so  long  as  our  Christian  life  is  in  the  mortal 
body  of  sin,  struggling  for  the  mastery,  and  the  old 
man,  our  worse  self,  must  be  resolutely  "mortified," 
we  must  feel  the  anguish  and  agonies  of  a  death,  an 
execution,  or,  as  the  Scripture  more  emphatically  calls 
it,  a  crucifixion  of  our  natural  tendencies  and  desires. 
Therefore  hate,  a  very  strong  passion,  is  sent  to  our  aid, 
that  we  may  set  ourselves  on  our  wickedness  with  the 
ardor  of  a  combatant,  who  minds  not  his  own  sufferincrs 
in  his  determination  to  inflict  death  on  his  foe.     But 
hate  is  not  enough   to  bear  us  victoriously  through. 
There  is  a  stronger  passion  yet,— the  power  most  preva- 
lent and  impelling  in  God  or  man,  —  love,  which  sheds 
through  the  faculties  and  affections  of  the  human  soul 
a  delicious  ardor,  absorbing  the  whole  nature  to  one 
purpose,  and  concentrating  all  its  forces  on  one  enter- 
prise.    Faith  is  strong,  hope  is  stronger,  but  love  is 
strongest  in  all  the  operations  of  the  Christian  life.     It 
is  the  superlative  of  the   three  degrees  of  heavenly 
grace,  the  acme  of  the  climax  by  which  we  ascend  to 
God.     Hence,  in  this  most  difficult  work  of  our  con- 
version, love  alone  is  equal  by  divine  grace  to  its  ac- 
complishment, and  has  the  largest  share  in  the  process. 
God,  from  whom  comes  the  divine  life  which  assimi- 
lates us  to  himself,  is  love;  and  love  to  God  is  so  iden- 
tified with  the  new  life,  that  we  cannot  distinguish  it 
from  the  life  itself.     It  can  be  engendered,  quickened, 
nurtured,  perfected  only  by  love.     It  is  the  love  of  God 
m  Christ  which  awakens  love  in  our  hearts.     "  We 


i 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION.    [Lect.  XLL 


hve  m^  iecause  he  first  loved  us."  "  The  love  of 
Christ  constraineth  us  ...  to  live  not  unto  ourselves 
unto  him  who  died  for  us  and  rose  again."  It  is 
perception,  the  persuasion,  the  apprehension,  the 
bringing  home  to  himself  of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ, 
which  transforms  the  believer  by  an  all-pervading  en- 
ergy, thrilling,  subduing,  exciting  all  his  senses  into  a 
willing,  happy,  obedient  creature  of  Christ's  will.  As 
in  his  life-giving  miracle  the  prophet  stretched  himself 
on  the  body  of  the  child,  so  does  Christ  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  regenerating  love,  closely  embrace  the  soul  of 
his  choice,  warming  it  with  his  own  divine  warmth, 
breathinff  into  it  his  own  divine  breath,  until  it  returns 
the  glow,  the  breath,  the  clinging  embrace,  and  rises 
with  him  a  new  creature,  conscious  of  eternal  life. 

The  fii-st  effect  of  this  love  of  God,  through  faith  in 
Christ,  is  joy  :  joy,  that  w^  possess  Christ  as  our  own ; 
joy  in  the  great  love  he  shows  to  us ;  joy  in  the  delight- 
ful love  we  bear  towards  him  ;  joy  in  the  beauty  of  his 
holiness ;  joy  that  we  may  partake  of  that  highest 
beauty  ;  joy  in  our  deliverance  from  the  displeasure  of 
Mm  whose  love  is  our  greatest  happiness ;  joy  in  the 
assured  hope  of  a  perfect,  eternal  consummation  of 
such  transcendent  bliss  ;  joy,  that  he  will  accept  any 
returns  of  our  gratitude  ;  joy,  that  he  enables  us  to 
make  those  returns  by  our  own  powers,  poor  in  them- 
selves, but  vigorous  from  his  imparted  grace  ;  joy,  that 
WM:  may  give  up  our  whole  lives,  all  w^e  are,  all  we 
have,  now  and  forever,  to  "  him  whom "  our  "  soul 
loveth." 

Christian  joj,  joy  springing  from  such  a  source,  must 
lie  more  than  a  lively  passion  or  a  rapturous  sentiment. 
I|  inspires  the  soul  with  a  divine  energy,  and  gives  a 


Lect.  XLL]    THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION.  389 

tone  of  vigorous  health  to  all  its  faculties.     "  The  joy 
of  the  Lord  is  your  strength,"  saith  the  Holy  Ghost  by 
the  prophet  to  Israel.     Therefore  the  Catechism,  in  its 
definition  of  conversion  :   "  With  love  and  delight  to 
live  according  to  the  will  of  God  in  all  good  wtrks." 
The  believer,  rejoicing  over  his  deliverance,  is  filled  with 
gratitude  to  his  deliverer,  and  ardently  gives  himself 
up  to  God's  service.     His  inquiry  is,  What  can  I  do  to 
please  him,  my  Father,  my  Saviour,  my  Sanctifier  ?  It 
is  now  his  delight  to  obey  the  divine  will.     His  heart 
is  turned  from  sin  because  it  provokes  God ;  he  hates 
it  and  would  fly  from  it.     So  when  he  discovers  what 
God's  law  requires,  he  not  only  assents  to  its  require- 
ments, but  rejoices  in  them,  and  delights  to  do  what  he 
loves  for  the  sake  of  him  whom  he  loves.     Far  from 
considering  those  commandments  grievous,  they  are  to 
him  a  perfect  law  of  liberty,  for  he  delights  in  the  law 
of  God  after  the  inward  man  ;  and  as  he  feels  the  new 
life  and  love  and  joy  in  God  through  Christ  filling  and 
animating  his  soul,  he  gladly  gives  all  his  strength  to 
every  good  work  which  Providence  lays  to  his  hand. 
It  is  no  longer  a  spirit  of  bondage,  making  him  a  reluc- 
tant servant  through  fear  of  wrath,  but  the  cheerful, 
earnest  obedience  of  a  child  loving  his  Father,  God, 
and  loving  the  work  his  Father  gives  him,  that  he  may 
become  more  and  more  like  Christ,  with  whom  the 
Father  is  well  pleased,  and  through  whom  the  Father 
is  well  pleased  with  all  who  endeavor  to  follow  in  his 
steps. 

Such  is  the  nature  of  true  conversion. 

1.  It  is  accompanied  by  strong  emotions,  —  sorrow, 
and  joy,  and  hate,  and  love,  anguish  and  delight.  Yet 
it  is  a  fatal  mistake  that  mere  excitement  of  feeling, 


;i 


( 


( 


I 


890 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION.    [Lect.  XLI. 


even  though  it  be  about  rehgious  things,  is  a  proof  of 
conversion.  Religion  does  not  lie  in  heats  of  devotion 
or  exaggerated  passion.  The  heathen  are  so  excited  in 
their  idolatries,  as  were  the  Israelites  before  the  solden 
cal£  Wt  must  carefully  examine  whence  these  feelinors 
come  :  whether  they  spring  from  our  having  offended 
God  or  not ;  whether  from  joy  in  God  or  not ;  whether 
our  hearts  are  converted  from  sin  to  the  service  of  God 
or  not. 

2.  We  have  described  the  converted  heart  under 
strong  terms,  setting  it  forth  in  the  maimer  which, 
were  grace  perfect  in  us,  it  would  manifest  itself  Still 
we  must  not  despair  of  God's  mercy,  or  doubt  his  re- 
newing grace,  if  we  come  far  short  of  these  high  sensi- 
bilities and  of  the  holy  practice  which  the  law  of  God 
requires.  Conversion  is  a  change  begun,  it  is  true,  in 
regeneration,  but  not  consummated  until  the  believer 
enters  into  heaven.  He  hates  sin  and  flees  from  it  more 
and  more  ;  he  loves  God  and  delights  to  do  the  will  of 
God  in  good  works.  Yet  the  corruption  is  still  within 
UiHi  though  against  his  will ;  and  grace  is  still  in  conflict 
with  the  corruption.  Nay,  the  conflict  rouses  the  cor- 
ruption to  a  desperate  resistance.  Before,  his  eyes  were 
blinded,  his  conscience  inert ;  he  did  not  see  or  feel  the 
vileness  and  misery  of  sin,  and  knew  not  how  great  a 
sinner  he  was.  Now,  his  sense  of  sin  is  keen.  He 
compares  himself  with  the  law  of  God,  the  claims  of 
God's  love  on  his  heart ;  and  in  proportion  as  he  desires 
and  endeavors  to  obey,  he  discovers,  to  his  shame  and 
grief;  liSi  evilness  of  heart,  his  shortcomings,  his  fail- 
ures, his  lapses.  He  mourns  that  he  hates  sin  so  little ; 
that  he  loves  God  in  Christ  so  little ;  that  he  sins  so 
often ;  that  he  does  so  few  good  works,  and  those  so 


I 


Lect.  XLI.]    THE  NATURE  OF  TRUt  CONVERSION.  391 

feebly.  But  the  very  sharpness  of  the  conflict  proves 
the  activity  of  grace  ;  and  while  he  suffers  that  his  spir- 
itual life  is  so  weak,  he  should  thank  God  with  joy  that 
he  is  no  longer  dead.  It  is  a  great  change  which  only 
the  grace  of  God  could  work,  that  the  current  of  his 
life  has  been  turned  from  love  of  sin  to  love  of  holiness, 
from  enmity  against  God  to  delight  in  the  way  of  God's 
commandments. 

8.  Hence  the  main  and  only  sufficient  evidence  of 
our  conversion  lies  in  our  principles.  If  the  old  man 
reigns  over  us,  and  we  yield  our  desires  and  our  affec- 
tions and  our  acts  to  its  con'upt  will,  we  are  yet  dead 
in  our  sins  ;  but  if  the  new  man  be  established  in  our 
hearts,  and  we  yield  to  its  godly  will  our  desires  and 
affections  and  acts,  sincerely  endeavoring  after  new 
obedience,  we  are  children  of  grace.  This  is  what  our 
church  says  in  her  office  for  the  holy  communion,  which 
is  the  profession  and  covenant  of  our  faith  in  Christ : 
"  We  do  not  come  to  the  supper  to  testify  thereby  that 
we  are  perfect  and  righteous  in  ourselves ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  considering  that  we  seek  our  life  out  of  our-. 
selves  in  Christ,  we  acknowledge  that  we  lie  in  the 
midst  of  death.  Therefore,  notwithstanding  we  feel 
many  infirmities  and  miseries  in  ourselves,  as  namely, 
that  we  have  not  perfect  faith,  and  do  not  give  ourselves 
to  serve  God  with  that  zeal  as  we  are  bound,  and  have 
daily  to  strive  with  the  weakness  of  our  faith  and  the 
evil  lusts  of  our  flesh,  yet,  since  we  are,  by  the  grace 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  sorry  for  these  weaknesses,  and 
earnestly  desirous  to  fight  against  our  unbelief,  and  to 
live  according  to  all  the  commandments  of  God,  there- 
fore we  rest  assured  that  no  sin  or  infirmity,  which  still 
remaineth  against  our  will  in  us,  can  hinder  us  from 


\ 


392 


THE  NATURE  OF  TRUE  CONVERSION.    [Lkct.  XLI. 


being  received  of  God  in  mercy,  and  from  being  made 
worthy  partakers  of  the  heavenly  meat  and  drink." 

Lastly:  We  see  how  vain  are  all  endeavors  after 
repentance  before  faith  in  Christ.  It  is  only  the  love 
of  God  in  Christ  that  can  change  the  enmity  of  our 
hearts  to  love.  It  is  only  our  love  to  God  in  Christ 
that  can  constrain  us  to  live  not  unto  ourselves  but  unto 
him.  Therefore,  the  contemplation  of  God's  love  to 
us  in  Christ  is  the  grand  means  of  cultivating  our  re- 
pentance and  accomplisliing  our  conversion.  It  is  as 
we  look  up  to  our  crucified  Forerunner  on  his  throne, 
that  the  light  of  heaven  streams  down  on  our  souls, 
and  the  attraction  of  God's  holy  love  overcomes  the 
attraction  of  earth  and  sin.  Look  to  Jesus,  your 
Saviour ;  believe  in  him  and  hope  in  his  promise ;  then 
shall  you  run  with  patience  the  race  set  before  you, 
and  at  last  come  to  perfect  rest,  in  the  perfect  enjoy- 
ment of  his  love. 


LECTURE     XLII. 


THE  NATDEE  OE  GOOD  WOEKS. 


SECOND  LECTURE. 


THIRTY-THIRD  LORD'S  DAY. 


^ 


"I  i  It:! 


I 

I 


- 


THE  NATURE  OF  GOOD  WORKS. 

(second  lecture.) 

Quest.  XCI.    But  what  are  good  works  f 

Ans.    Only  those  which  proceed  from  true  faith,  are  performed  according 

to  the  hiw  of  God  and  to  his  glory ;  and  not  such  as  are  founded  on 

our  imaginations,  or  the  institutions  of  men. 

/^LEAR  and  sufficient  as  this  definition  must  be  to 
^  the  evangehcal  behever,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that 
the  subject  involves  radical  questions  of  moral  philoso- 
phy which  have  engaged  the  greatest  and  keenest  minds 
from  the  beginning  of  inquiry  to  the  present  day.  The 
results  of  these  long,  large,  and  able  discussions  have 
not  been  satisfactory,  for  the  war  of  opinions  is  as  vigor- 
ous as  ever.  It  does  not  consist  with  our  purpose  to 
occupy  ourselves  at  any  length  with  controversies  which 
have  lasted  for  more  than  two  thousand  years,  while  it 
would  be  the  extreme  of  presumption  to  attempt  a 
settlement  of  them  except  from  the  plain  teaching  of 
Holy  Scripture  ;  yet  a  slight  notice  of  the  more  impor- 
tant points  in  dispute  is  desirable  for  our  future  exposi- 
tions of  the  matter  before  us,  and  also  to  show  how 
impossible  it  is,  without  the  wisdom  from  on  high,  to 
find  the  path  of  truth  and  virtue. 

What  is  right  ?  This  question  meets  us  at  the  very 
outset  of  moral  investigation.  All  are  practically 
agreed,  however  they  may  differ  in  terms  or  modes  of 


1 


'  (■'■ 


'  f 


ii 


396 


THE  NATURE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.      [Lect.  XLII. 


statement,  that  the  doing  of  right  is  our  highest  duty 
and  best  wisdom.  But  what  is  right?  or  (for  it 
amounts  to  the  same  thing),  how  shall  we  know 
what  is  right  ?  From  this  point  the  leaders  of  opin- 
ion, with  their  several  schools,  widely  diverge. 

Right  is  a  figurative  term,  synonymous  with  straight. 
But  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  our  conduct  is  right  or 
straight,  we  must  have  an  undoubted,  infallible,  attain- 
able rule  by  which  to  try  it.  Now,  by  what  rule  shall 
we  try  our  moral  acts  ?  Some  say,  the  rule  is  in  our 
own  souls.  We  are  so  constituted  that  the  soul  distin- 
guishes right  from  wrong  as  necessarily  and  naturally 
as  the  eye  perceives  proportion  or  the  ear  harmony. 
Hence  they  give  to  what  we  ordinarily  call  conscience 
the  name  of  moral  sense.  But,  passing  over  some 
grave  difficulties  in  this  scheme,  (as  the  imperfection 
of  our  moral  nature  which  renders  the  judgment  of 
our  consciences  untrustworthy,  and  the  manifest  fact 
of  a  diversity  in  the  moral  decisions  of  men,)  we  ask, 
if  we  be  so  constituted  as  to  discern  right  and  wrong, 
Who  gave  us  this  most  eminent  of  all  faculties  ?  and, 
as  the  answer  must  be,  God,  we  ask  again.  By  what 
standard  has  he  regulated  all  the  consciences  of  men  ? 
Should  we  be  answered.  The  fitness  of  things,  (or  the 
order  of  that  constitution  of  things  of  which  we  form 
a  part,)  the  difficulty  is  only  moved  a  step  farther  back  ; 
for  besides  the  impossibility  of  so  comparing  the  innu- 
merable parts  of  such  a  vast  and  complicated  system 
as  to  ascertain  what  the  fitness  of  things  requires  of  us, 
we  are  forced  to  ask  again.  According  to  what  rule  did 
the  Creator  organize  this  constitution  in  which  he  has 
placed  us?  Wei  therefore,  come  inevitably  to  the 
question   which  has  long  been  agitated  by  profound 


Lect.  XLII.]     THE  NATURE  OF  GOOD  WORKS. 


397 


thinkers :  whether  right  and  wrong  are  determined  by 
the  simple  will  of  God,  or  by  an  eternal  rule  antece- 
dent to  and  independent  of  the  will  of  God  ? 

It  would  be  more  curious  than  profitable  to  relate 
the  many  extravagant  and  even  ridiculous  arguments 
and  suppositions  advanced  by  the  disputants  on  botli 
sides,  especially  during  the  three  centuries  after  the 
middle  of  the  13th,  when  the  two  schools  of  Thomas 
Aquinas  and  Dun  Scotus  (Erigena)  convulsed  the  re- 
ligious world  of  Europe  with  their  subtle  polemics.  The 
Thomists  held  with  Aquinas,  who,  though  a  champion 
of  the  Augustinian  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Sovereignty, 
taught  that  God  always  wills  right,  but  that  he  wills  it 
because  it  is  riglit,  and  that  it  is  not  right  solely  because 
he  wills  it.  Hence  they  assumed  the  name  oi  Realists : 
intimating  that  they  held  to  a  real,  not  an  arbitrary 
distinction  between  right  and  wrong.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Scotists  held  that  what  God  wills  is  right, 
simply  because  he  wills  it,  and  that  had  he  commanded 
the  opposite,  which  is  now  wrong,  it  would  have  been 
right,  and  that  which  is  now  right  would  have  been 
wrong.  Hence  they  were  called  Nominalists^  because 
they  held  that  right  was  right,  and  wrong  wrong  onlv 
because  God  declared  them  so  to  be,  and  not  from  any 
original  quality  in  either  of  them. 

A  modest  searcher  after  divine  truth,  not  intoxicated 
by  metaphysical  subtleties,  shrinks  from  adopting  either 
extreme.  In  the  first  place,  though  the  terms  antece- 
dent and  independent  are  used  only  in  a  logical  sense, 
we  are  shocked  by  the  doctrine  that  anything  in  mor- 
als is  before  God,  or  independent  of  him  in  any  sense : 
which  would  be,  in  effect,  reviving  the  heathen  doc- 
trine of  fate  controlling  the   divinity.     Then,  again, 


I] 


I 


398 


THE  NATURE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.       [Lect.  XLII. 


'H 


we  are  as  much  shocked  by  the  bare  supposition  that 
God's  determination  of  right  and  wrong  is  merely 
arbitrary,  so  arbitrary  that  he  might  have  ordained  the 
ireverse.  Let  as  see  if  there  be  not  a  way  of  satisfying 
ourselves  more  in  accordance  with  our  reverence  for 
the  God  of  the  Bible. 

The  will  of  God  flows  from  his  divine  nature,  which 
is  self-existent,  eternal,  and   infinitely  perfect.      This 
infinite  perfection  implies  perfect  consistency  in  all  the 
divine  thoughts,  purposes,  and  acts.     For  if  any  one  of 
these  were  contrary  to,  or  discordant  with,  any  one 
other,  he  would  not  be  perfect,  because  one  or  the  other 
of  the  differings  would  be  an  imperfection.     Thus  we 
slionld  place  the  eternal  rule  of  right  not  in  any  mere 
arbitrary  will  <rf  God,  because  his  nature  being  infi- 
nitely, therefore  unchangeably  perfect,  his  will  must 
be  in  accordance  with  his  nature.     Therefore-  the  eter- 
nal law  of  right  can  be  found  only  in  the  self-caused 
nature  of  God,  or,  in  other  words,  the  entire  consist- 
ency of  God  with  himself.      Thus,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  will  of  God  in  determining  right  is  not  arbitrary 
because  it  is  consistent  with  his  infinite  nature  ;  and  on 
the  other  hand,  right  is  not  antecedent  to  or  indepen- 
dent on  God,  because  he  is  self-existent  and  eternal. 
Tie  holiness  of  a  moral  creature  is  his  conformity  to 
tie  divine  character  so  far  as  a  finite  being  can  resem- 
Me  lilt  infinite ;  the  holiness  of  God  is  his  infinitely 
perfect  consistency  with  himself.     If  this  view  cannot 
resolve  the  difficulty  of  the  schoolmen,  it  will,  at  least, 
relieve  the  mind  of  the  child-like  Christian  who  can 
submit  himself  only  to  God«     To  repeat  what  we  said 
in  the  beginning,  we  must  have  a  rule  by  which  to  try 
our  moral  conduct ;  and  that  rule  must  be  ascertained, 


Lect.XLIL]     the  nature  OF  GOOD  WORKS. 


399 


simple,  and  infallible.  We  cannot  delay  our  acts  until 
we  satisfy  ourselves  respecting  the  conclusions  of  general 
conscience,  or  the  fitness  of  things ;  nor  from  what  we 
have  seen  of  men's  differences  in  sentiment  and  opinion, 
could  we  ever  come  to  an  undoubted  conclusion.  When 
the  most  learned  and  ingenious  disagree  so  widely,  the 
great  mass  of  mankind  cannot  be  expected  to  distin- 
guish between  right  and  wrong.  But  when  we  take 
the  law  of  God  for  our  standard,  we  conform  ourselves 
to. the  infinitely  wise  will  of  him  who  has  made  us  and 
all  things,  thereby  placing  us  in  relations  to  a  system 
so  harmonious  and  settled  that  any  violation  of  his  law 
would  be  a  violation  of  fitness,  and  any  violation  of  fit- 
ness a  violation  of  his  law.  We  must  go  farther.  It 
is  not  enough  that  we  conform  jourselves  to  the  law  of 
God,  but  we  must  take  it  as  our  rule,  because  it  is  the 
law  of  God.  In  other  words,  we  must  obey,  not  the 
law,  but  God  from  whom  the  law  proceeds.  Our  duty 
is  to  God  ;  his  law  is  the  rule  which  he  has  prescribed 
for  the  rendering  of  our  duty.  It  is  incorrect  to  speak 
of  our  obligation  to  right,  or  of  duty  to  law.  Eight 
and  law  respect  the  relations  of  moral  beings,  but  are 
not  themselves  moral  beings,  and,  therefore,  cannot 
themselves  be  objects  of  duty.  That  goes  beyond  or 
through  the  law  to  the  being  or  beings  with  whom  we 
are  in  relation.  This  is  clearly  shown  by  the  scriptural 
fact  that  love  is  the  fiilfilling  of  the  law,  and  by  the 
summary  of  the  law  in  supreme  love  to  God  and  love 
to  our  neighbor  as  ourselves.  Such  an  affection  cannot 
be  rendered  to  a  law,  or  a  principle,  but  can  be  giv^n 
only  to  another  conscious  moral  being.  We  cannot 
keep  the  law  of  God  without  supreme  love  to  him,  and 


} 


i 


( 


11 


400 


THE  NATURE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.     [Lect.  XLII 


ih^tifoire  our  obedience  is  due  to  God  who  ordained  the 
law,  not  to  the  law  itself.   It  is,  therefore,  most  unphil- 
osophical  to  attempt  a  transference  of  our  obedience 
from  the  will  of  God  to  a  mere  principle  or  rule,  —  an 
error  they  commit  who  would  place  our  rule  of  ri^rht 
elsewhere  than  in  the  divine  will.     To  tell  me  that  I 
1111191  dp  right  simply  because  it  is  right,  and  not  be- 
cause it  is  the  will  of  God,  is  to  say  that  God  should 
have  no  place  in  morals.     It  is  true  that  God  rewards 
those  who  do  right,  and  punishes  those  who  do  wrong  ; 
but  to  put  my  obligation  on  that  principle  is  to  make 
God  only  a  judge  and  an  executioner.     No  ;  I  must  do 
right  and  avoid  wrong,  because  I  love  him  and  it  is  his 
will  that  I  should  so  order  my  conduct.     Hence  the 
Christian  considers  God  to  be  the  only  object  of  all 
duty,  our  so-called  duties  to  ourselves  or  our  fellow- 
creatures  being  covered  by  our  duty  to  him,  because  he 
has  enjoined  them  upon  us. 

The  ground  of  our  duty  to  God  is  the  fact  that  he  is 
our  Creator  and  the  Creator  of  all  things.     All  our 
faculties  of  soul  and  body  were  by  him  brought  into 
existen«;e  out  of  nothing,  and  are  by  him  maintained  in 
existence.     He,  therefore,  owns  us  and  has  a  right  to 
our  entire  service.     As  the  Creator  he  is  the  Governor, 
Legislator,  and  Judge ;  every  attribute  of  sovereignty 
is  included  by  his  creatorship.     Our  sense  of  obligation 
should  be  vastly  enhanced  by  his  infinite  wisdom  and 
goodness  and  holy  excellence,  and,  above  all,  by  the  re- 
demption in  Christ  Jesus  ;  nay,  it  is  by  the  exercise  of 
these  adorable  attributes  that  our  love  to  him  is  drawn 
out ;  but,  nevertheless,  the  original  basis  of  our  moral 
obligation  is  our  being  his  creatures.     Does  any  one 


Lkct.  XLIL]     the  nature  OF  GOOD  WORKS.  401 

ask  me  here.  If  God  were  other  than  good  or  holy, 
should  I  be  bound  to  love  him  ?  or,  if  he  commanded 
me  to  do  anything  contrary  to  right,  should  I  feel  my- 
self bound  to  obey  him  ?     I  reply  that  such  questions 
are  profane   absurdities.      I  cannot  conceive  of  God 
without  infinitely  perfect  attributes.     They  are  essen- 
tial to  my  idea  of  God.     Without  them  the  imaginary 
being  you  talk  6f  would  not  be  God.    I  cannot  consent, 
even  m  supposition,  to  put  my  God  out  of  existence. 
I  can  have  no  knowledge,  no  thought,  no  being,  except 
from  my  Creator.     To  him  I  belong  ;  therefore  is  his 
law  the  rule  of  my  life.     He  is  infinitely  excellent ;  I 
only  know  of  excellence  but  from  him.      He  is  my 
Father,  my  Saviour,  my  Sanctifier,  my  all ;  therefore 
do  I  love  him,  and  am  conscious  that  it  is  my  duty  to 
make  his  will  my  own. 

These  considerations,  though  perhaps  more  abstruse, 
and  apparently  more  abstract  than  those  which  are  or- 
dinarily brought  before  you,  are  far  from  unprofitable. 
On  a  correct  understanding  of  the  great  truth  of  our 
obligation  to  God  alone  depend  our  correctness  of  be- 
lief in  many  consequent  doctrines ;   and  if  we  have 
grace  to  hold  it  fast,  it  will  be  a  clue  to  guide  us  out  of 
many  a  labyrinth  where  we  should  otherwise  wander 
''in  '  wildering  mazes  lost.'  "     If  God  be  WTong,  who 
shall  tell  us  what  is  right  ?     If  God  be  right,  what 
need  of  conjecture  ?     We  believe  in  God,  and  are  not 
at  liberty  to  make  any  question  as  to  what  is  right 
or  what  is  wrong  from   our  own  reason,  but  only^to 
,  ascertain  what  he  determines,  and  has  declared  by  his 
law  to  be  right  or  wrong.     There  alone  can  we  rest. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  exposition  of  the  Catechism 
itself.    The  answer  to  the  91st  Question  defines  "  good 


VOL.  II. 


2G 


i\ 


402 


THE  NATURE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.     [Lect.  XLU. 


works  **  to  be  "  only  those  which  proceed  from  true 
faith  [and]  are  performed  according  to  the  law  of  God 
and  to  his  glory,  and  not  such  as  are  founded  on  our 
imaginations  or  the  institutions  of  men." 

1.  It  must  be  remembered  that  this  definition  occurs 
in  an  account  of  the  new  or  converted  man  ;  and, 
therefore,  that  the  phrase  "  good  works  '*  is  used  not 
in  an  absolute,  but  in  the  evangelical  sehse.  To  us  sin- 
ners, who  are  acceptable  to  God  only  through  the  infi- 
nitely meritorious  mediation  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
•*  that  which  is  without  faith  is  sin,"  and  our  best  deeds 
are  offensive  to  God  except  as  they  are  cleansed  by  the 
blood,  covered  by  the  righteousness,  and  presented  by 
the  intercession  of  our  great  Surety.  It  is  also  obvi- 
ous that  the  Christian,  who  makes  (as  the  Catechism 
goes  on  to  say  every  converted  man  does)  the  word  of 
God  his  only  rule  of  right  practice,  must  exercise  faith 
in  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures,  which  faith  respects  the 
justice  of  the  divine  commandments  as  well  as  the 
mercy  of  the  divine  promises,  so  that  in  proportion  to 
the  strength  of  our  faith  in  the  word  of  God  will  be 
oaf  aim  to  comply  with  the  divine  will.  Faith  in 
Christ  is  necessary,  therefore,  not  to  the  original  or 
absolute  goodness  of  a  moral  act,  but  to  our  recovery 
from  the  rebellion  of  sin,  and  the  acceptableness  of  our 
imperfect  obedience  in  the  sight  of  God.  Besides, 
every  motion,  desire,  and  endeavor  to  do  right,  which 
we  have,  is  the  effect  of  divine  grace,  "  working  in  us 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  God's  good  pleasure,"  and 
this  grace  is  ever  given,  and  given  only  in  answer  to 
faith.  Hence  our  Christian  life  can  be  maintained 
©nly  by  the  exercise  of  a  true  faith,  without  which  any 
good  works  on  our  part  are  impossible. 


Lkct.  XUI.]     the  NAT0RE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.  403 

2.  Those  only  are  good  works  which  "  are  performed 
according  to  the  law  of  God." 

a.  We  are  the  creatures  of  God,  and  therefore 
belong  to  h.m;  so  tliat  his  will,  as  declared  to  us  in 
ins  law,  IS  absolutelj  sovereign  over  us ;  and  the  only 
question  we  have  a  right  to  make  respecting  our  con- 
duct^ IS :   "  What  doth  the  Lord  our  God  require  of 

h.  We  are  bought  with  a  price  ransomed  from  the 
power  of  Satan   and   from   everlasting  death   by  the 
most  precious  blood  of  Christ;  and  he  has  bought  us  to 
himself,  as  a  peculiar  (his  own)  people,  zealous  of  good 
^orks  ;  for  which  reason  we  are,  by  the  power  of  his 
Holy  Spmt,  "his  workmanship,  created  in  Christ  Jesus 
unto  good  works,  which  God  hath  before  ordained  that 
we  should  walk  ir.  them."     If,  therefore,  we  accept  the 
redemption  of  Chnst  for  our  souls,  we  must,  by  divine 
help,  assume  the  obligations  which  the  purpose  of  the 
redemption  implies,  and  walk  (or  order  our  practice) 
according  to  the  rules  ordained  for  us  in  the  law  of 
God.     This  should  not  be  by  any  constraint  of  servile 
fear,  but  with   the  willingness  which  the  most  lively 
and  paramount  gratitude  inspires.    "  The  love  of  Christ 
constraineth  us  ;  because  we  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died 
for  all   then  were  all  dead ;  and  that  he  died  for  all 
that  they  which  live  should  not  henceforth  live  unto 
themselves^  but  unto  him  which  died  for  them  and  rose 
again.       Our  whole  life,  in  all  its  thoughts,  affections, 
words,  actions,  and  energies,  is  the  thank-offerin-.  which 
we  should  render  unto  Christ  for  his  unspeakable  love 
m  offering  himself  as  a  sacrifice  to  redeem  us  unto 
God. 

c.  Nay,  more ;  God,  accepting  us  in  Christ  his  Son, 


i! 


^t 


404 


THE  NATURE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.     [Lect.  XLII. 


accepts  us  as  his  children  ;  and,  as  the  proof  and  earnest 
of  his  Fatherly  love,  he  sends  into  our  hearts  the  spirit 
of  his  Son,  which  is  the  spirit  of  adoption  whereby  we 
cry  *'  Abba,  Father."  We,  therefore,  should  be  "  fol- 
lowers of  God  as  dear  children."  As  an  affectionate 
child  confides  in  his  father's  wisdom  and  love,  desiring 
nothing  so  much  as  to  obey  his  father's  will,  so  the 
Christian,  committino;  all  that  concerns  him  for  life  and 
death,  time  and  eternity,  to  his  heavenly  Father's  dis- 
position, asks  only  what  that  Father  would  have  him  to 
do,  and  does  it  with  his  whole  heart. 

3.  They  must  also  be  performed  to  the  glory  of  God. 
This  has  been  made  evident  by  our  previous  considera- 
tions. The  original  and  ultimate  end  of  all  things  can 
Im  none  other  than  the  manifestation  of  the  glory  of 
their  great  Author ;  and  as  the  moral  creature  is  the 
greatest  of  God's  creatures,  the  obligation  of  all  intel- 
ligent beings  to  manifest,  by  the  beauty  of  obedient 
lives,  the  wisdom  and  holiness  of  the  Creator's  moral 
law  is  proportionately  great.  But  the  highest  glory  of 
God  is  placed  by  himself  in  the  redemption  of  sinful 
men  by  the  atonement  of  Christ,  and  their  elevation  by 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  from  the  depths  of  guilty 
depravity  to  the  perfect  eternal  holiness  of  heaven. 
Therefore  are  we  doubly  bound  by  our  creation  and 
tedemption,  nay,  trebly,  since  we  add  the  dedication  of 
ourselves  to  glorify  God  by  our  bodies  and  spirits  which 
are  his.  This  can  be  done  only  by  an  entire  conformity 
to  the  will  of  God,  as  made  known  by  his  work.  What 
TOtue  ct  our  own  invention  we  may  pretend  to,  if  it 
lave  any  praise,  would  b©  td  our  glory ;  what  duty  we 
perform  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  reflects  glory 
him.      The   light  of  the  truth  is  our  light  only 


Lect.  XLIL]      THE  NATURE  OF  GOOD  WORKS. 


405 


because  it  shines  upon  us  from  God  ;  therefore  does 
our  Lord  say,  what  is  repeated  in  a  thousand  Scrip- 
tures :  "  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that  they 
may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven."  The  motive  of  the  divine  glory 
is,  therefore,  essential  to  any  good  work  of  the  Chris- 
tian. 

It  may,  however,  be  asked  here,  whether  or  not  this 
motive  of  the  divine  glory  should  exclude  from  our 
hearts  all  motive  of  our  own  good,  so  that  our  obedi- 
ence to  God  shall  be  perfectly  disinterested.     We  an- 
swer that,  so  far  from  this  being  the  case,  such  disinter- 
estedness is  not  only  not  required,  but  from  the  nature 
of  the  case,  impossible.     God  has  from  the  befrinnino" 
implanted  m  the  moral  creature  a  love  of  happiness 
and  religion,  instead  of  eradicating  this  strong  motive- 
principle,  addresses  it  by  the  strongest  arguments,  and 
directs  it  by  the  divine  commandments.     When  God 
says,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  he, 
by  making  it  the  measure  of  our  love  to  our  neighbor, 
recognizes  our  love  of  ourselves  as  just,  and  shows  that 
without  it  we  cannot  know  how  to  obey  God  in  loving 
our  neighbor.     The  sanctions  of  the  divine  law  —  life  in 
reward  of  obedience,  death  in  penalty  of  disobedience  — 
can  have  no  force  except  as  self-love  has  power  in  our 
hearts.     So  we  find  our  blessed  Lord  opposing  the  mo- 
tives which  worldly  men  have  to  sin,  and  hypocrites  to 
an  external  form  of  piety,  by  saying  that  they  have  their 
reward,  but  that  our  heavenly  Father  himself  will  reward 
openly  all  those  who  serve  him  out  of  a  sincere  heart. 
According  to  which  principle  Moses  acted  when  "  he 
had  respect  unto  the  recompense  of  reward  " ;  nay, 
our  Lord  himself,  the  "  great  pattern  of  a  Christian 


I< 


J ' 


406 


THE  NATURE  Of  GOOD  WOKKS.      [Lect.  XLII. 


life,"  when  "for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him  he 
endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame."  We  do  not  lose 
our  will  when  we  make  the  will  of  God  our  own  ;  nor 
do  we  lose  our  happiness  when  we  seek  the  glory  of 
God  which  lies  in  the  best  bappiness  of  his  children. 
If  I  am  bound  to  serve  the  welfare  of  mv  fellow-man 
because  he  is  God*s  creature,  I  am  bound  for  the  same 
reason  to  seek  my  own  welfare,  since  I  am  equally 
God's  creature.  Besides,  the  Christian  cannot  isolate 
himself  He  belongs  to  a  system,  each  part  of  which 
receives,  as  well  as  gives,  influences  for  good  or  evil. 
God  in  Christ,  and,  before  the  necessity  of  redemption 
God  the  Creator,  is  the  head  of  the  system  from  whom 
all  the  vital  influences  for  good  proceed,  as  to  him  the 
issues  of  praise  return.  We  cannot,  therefore,  obey 
God  without  receiving  our  share  of  the  benefit  which 
our  obedience  works  in  the  system.  We  cannot, 
therefore,  and  ought  not  to  ignore  our  interest  in 
doing  the  will  of  God,  any  more  than  we  should  seek 
to  isolate  ourselves  from  the  constitution  of  things  in 
which  God  has  placed  us.  The  glory  of  our  heavenly 
Father  is  the  blessedness  of  his  cliildren ;  therefore 
should  we  seek  our  own  good  in  the  way  of  his  com- 
mandments, from  the  very  desire  we  have  for  his 
glory. 

If  our  foregoing  demonstrations  have  been  sound, 
111©  remaining  part  of  the  answer  before  us  needs 
none. 

1.  The  law  of  God  being  our  only  and  sovereign 
rale,  we  have  no  right  to  mingle  with  it,  or  oppose  it 
Ijr,  aiiy  imagination  or  thought  of  our  own.  It  is  not 
permitted  us  to  do  what  we  suppose  or  what  seems  to 
us  right ;  we  must  do  only  that  which  God  declares  in 


Lect.  XLII.]     THE  NATURE  OF  GOOD  WORKS, 


407 


his  blessed  word  to  be  right.     The  settlement  of  what 
is  right  or  wrong  is  infinitely  above  our  faculty.     We 
must  take  the  rule  only  from  him  who  alone  knows. 
Therefore   we  ought    most   religiously  to  guard  our- 
selves from   the  temptation  of  acting  from   our  im- 
pulses, our  feelings,  or  opinions  ;    for  all  these  come 
out   of  a   sinful   heart,  which   is    deceitful   above   all 
things.     Our  duty  is  to  obey  God,  not  ourselves ;  and 
this  we  do  only  when  we  rule  our  hearts  and  lives  by 
the  commandments  he  has  given  us  in  his  holy  word. 
2.    If  we  are  not  to  obey  our  own   imaginations, 
neither  are  we  to  obey  the  imaginations  of  other  men, 
whether  they  come  to  us  in  traditions  or  decrees  of 
churches,  or  dogmas  of  associations,  or  public  opinion. 
Nothing  is  our  duty  but  what  God  has  commanded  ; 
and  we,  in  effect,  transfer   our  allegiance  from  him 
to  the  authority  of  sinners  like   ourselves,  when  we 
adopt  any  article  into  our  creed,  any  ceremony  into 
our  worship,  or  any  rule  into  our  morality,  which  God 
has  not  expressly  given.     There  is  a  strong  tendency 
even  in  conscientious  people  to  go  astray  here.     They 
cannot  resist  the  influence  of  those  whom  they  think 
good  or  wise,  nor  refuse  that  which  is  plausibly  expe- 
dient.    So  we  find  the  Jews  of  our  Lord's  time  follow- 
ing the  traditions  of  the  elders.     Afterwards  the  Papal 
church  tyrannized  in  the  same  manner  over  the  con- 
sciences of  the  people ;  and  among  Protestants  of  our 
own  day,  methods  of  worship  and  reform,  wholly  from 
the  inventions  of  men,  are  made   paramount  to  the 
plainest  dictates  of  Holy  Scripture.      Dearly  beloved 
brethren,  be  not  so  deceived.      You  can  render  the 
God  of  the  Bible  no  divided  allegiance.     If  the  opin- 
ion of  men  be  your  god,  serve  it ;  but  if  God  who 


1 


■I 


'■'I'  I 


408 


THE  NATURE  OF  GOOD  WORKS.     [Lkct.  XLII. 


gave  us  the  Bible  be  your  God,  serve  him  alone.  The 
Scripture  was  given  that  the  man  of  God  might  be 
thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works ;  and  noth- 
ing is  a  good  work  which  is  not  founded  on  "  thus 
saitli  the  Lord." 


LECTURE  XLin. 


THE  ORDER,  THE  OBLIGATION,  AND  DIVISION  OF  THE 

DUTIES  ENJOINED  BY 

THE  TEN  COMIANMENTS. 


il 


THIRTY-FOURTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE   TEN  COMMANDMENTS. 

Quest.  XCII.     What  is  ihe  law  of  God  f 

Ans.  God  spake  all  these  words:  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  which  have 
brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage. 
Thou  Shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me.  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto 
thee  any  graven  image,  or  any  likeness  of  anything  that  is  in  heaven 
above,  or  that  is  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  that  is  in  the  water  under  the 
earth:  Thou  shalt  not  bow  down  thyself  to  them,  nor  serve  them:  for 
I  the  Lord  thy  God  am  a  jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them 
that  hate  me;  And  showing  mercy  unto  thousands  of  them  that  love 
me,  and  keep  my  commandments.  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of 
the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain :  for  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless 
that  taketh  his  name  in  vain.  Remember  the  Sabbath-day,  to  keep  it 
holy.  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work;  But  the  seventh 
day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God :  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any 
work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy  man-servant,  nor  thy 
maid-servant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates: 
For  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea  and  all  that 
in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day;  wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the 
Sabbath-day,  and  hallowed  it.  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother; 
that  thy  days  may  be  long  upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
giveth  thee.  Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery. 
Thou  shalt  not  steal.  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  against  thy 
neighbor.  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  house,  thou  shalt  not 
covet  thy  neighbor's  wife,  nor  his  man-servant,  nor  his  maid-servant, 
nor  his  ox,  nor  his  ass,  nor  anything  that  is  thy  neighbor's.  —  Exodus 
XX.  1-17.    (Compare  Deuteronomy  v.  6-21,  &c.) 

Quest.  XCIIL     How  are  these  Ten  Commandments  divided?' 

Ans.     Into  two  tables:  The  first  of  which  teaches  us  how  we  must  behave 
toward  God ;  the  second,  what  duties  we  owe  to  our  neighbor. 

TT  having  been  settled  by  the  previous  teacliings  of 
■*-  the  Catechism,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  that  the 
believer  called  to  salvation  in  Jesus  Christ  is  by  the 
same  gospel  called  to  do  good  works,  (86th,  87th,  88th, 


J I  r. 


:  fc 


i'l 

If 


i/ 


41,  SI 


THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS. 


[Lect.  XLIII. 


89th  Questions  and  Answers,)  and  also  that  "  good 
works  are  only  those  which  proceed  from  true  faith 
[and]  are  performed  according  to  the  law  of  God  and 
to  his  glory  ;  not  such  as  are  founded  on  our  imagi- 
nations, m  the  institutions  of  men  " ;  it  becomes  us 
to  inquire  what  is  the  law  of  God,  according  to  which  all 
the  conduct  of  men  should  be  regulated ;  and  we  are 
taught  to  answer  this  question  by  a  recital  of  the  Deca- 
logue, or  ten  commandments,  as  they  are  recorded  in 
the  twentieth  chapter  of  Exodus,  1-17,  collated  with 
Deuteronomy  v.  6-21 ;  and  the  next  eleven  Lord's 
days  are  occupied  with  an  exposition  of  the  command- 
ments in  their  order.  They  are  divided  into  two  tables, 
because  Jehovah  wrote  them  twice,  once  on  two  stone 
tablets  prepared  by  himself  (Deut.  v.  22),  which  Moses 
let  fall  from  his  hands,  and  brake  in  his  indiffnation  at 
the  people's  idolatry  of  the  golden  calf  (Ex.  xxxii.  19)  ; 
and  a  second  time  on  two  tables  like  the  first,  prepared, 
according  to  his  order,  by  Moses  (Ex.  xxxiv.  1 ;  Deut. 
X.  1).  Which  commandments  were  written  on  the  first 
table,  and  which  on  the  second,  we  are  not  expressly 
told,  though  it  is  certain  that  there  were  ten  in  all 
(Deut.  iv.  13 ;  x.  4).  All  are  agreed  that  the  first 
table  included  those  duties  which  we  owe  immediately 
It  God;  tb^  second,  those  lie  has  commanded  us  to 
render  him  through  duties  to  our  fellow-men  ;  which  is 
in  agreement  with  our  Lord's  condensation  of  the  whole 
law  into  two  great  commandments  :  the  first,  "  Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
iriHi  nil  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  strength ; "  the  second,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself"  (Matt.  xxii.  37-40)  ;  the  first  of 
which  we  find  in  Deuteronomy  vi.  5,  and  elsewhere ; 


^ 


Lect.  XLIII.]  THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS. 


413 


the  second,  in  Lev.  xix.  18,  34.  But  here  the  Re- 
formed with  all  the  evangelical  churches  are  at  dif- 
ference with  the  Jews,  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  a 
large  majority  of  the  Lutherans.  Our  churches  reckon 
four  commandments  to  the  first  table,  and  six  to  the 
second.  What  division  was  established  among  the  an- 
cient Jews  is  not  very  clear.  Josephus  says  (Ant.  c. 
V.  8)  that  God  showed  them  two  tables  with  the  ten 
commandments  written  upon  them,  five  on  each  table, 
which  according  to  the  order  of  his  enumeration  would, 
against  propriety,  throw  the  fifth  commandment  into 
the  first  table  instead  of  the  second,  which  includes  our 
offices  to  men  (Ant.  c.  v.  5).  Pliilo,  however,  appears 
to  have  considered  the  preface,  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy 
God,"  &c.,  to  have  been  the  first  commandment;  but  as 
he  omits,  in  his  recital,  the  words  of  what  we  consider 
the  first,  passing  over  them  to  those,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
make  any  graven  gods,"  &c.,  it  would  seem  most  prob- 
able that  he  conjoined  the  sense  of  the  preface  with  the 
first  commandment  (in  our  order).  Athanasius  follows 
him  in  this.* 

The  Roman  Catholics  combine  the  first  and  sec- 
ond commandments,  giving  them  in  their  catechisms 
abridged,  so  as  to  avoid  the  strength  of  the  prohibition 
against  employing  images  in  their  devotions.  Thus, 
reducing:  the  number  of  commandments  in  the  first 
table  to  three,  they  are  obliged,  that  they  may  keep  the 
number  ten,  to  divide  the  tenth  into  two,  which  is  done 
by  making  the  first  clause  of  the  tenth  (as  given  Deut. 
V.  21,  "  Thou  shalt  not  desire  thy  neighbor's  wife,")  the 
ninth,  and  the  rest  of  it,  the  tenth ;  to  which  the  Re- 
formed churches  object,  as  that  would  be  merely  a  repe- 

*  See  Jer.  Tajlor;  Due.  Dub.  B.  11.  Ch.  2,  Rule  6. 


II 


I 


THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS.  [Lect.  XLIII. 

tilion  of  the  seventh,  whereas  the  closing  precept  is  in- 
tended to  forbid  all  envious  craving  of  whatever  is  our 
neighbor's.  Many  of  the  Lutherans,  being  partial  to 
pictures  in  churches  for  the  illustration  of  divine  truths 
to  the  laity,  have  followed  the  course  of  the  Papists 
with  regard  to  the  disposition  of  the  ten  precepts  ;  but 
it  is  fair  to  add  that  their  best  divines  lay  little  stress 
<m  the  matter,  as  Walchius,  verv  famous  amonir  them, 
savs :  "  Concerninor  the  division  of  the  Decaloorue,  there 
is  much  dispute.  The  doctors  of  the  Reformed  church 
give  four  precepts  to  the  first  table  and  six  to  the  sec- 
ond, in  doing  which  they  Separate  from  the  first  com- 
mandment what  relates  to  the  makinor  of  imaores,  and 
rank  it  as  the  second  commandment ;  but  join  the 
ninth  and  tenth  as  one.  They  contend  fiercely  for  this 
division,  and  many  of  them  [^Anhaltini^  Marpurgenses 
atque  aliill  accuse  Luther  of  omitting  the  precept  on 
image-making.  We,  however,  give  three  precepts  to 
tlie  first  table,  and  seven  to  the  second,  referring  what 
God  says  against  image-making  to  the  first  precept,  and 
separating  the  ninth  from  the  tenth.  This  discussion 
is  of  little  account.  The  thing  is  that  it  may  be  ar- 
ranged so  as  to  give  each  the  liberty  of  opinion  on  the 
division,  for  it  is  enough  that  the  commandments  be 
reckoned  as  ten."  (Intro,  in  Lib.  Ecc.  Luth.  Symbol, 
L.  1,  i4  sec.  xl.  p.  657.)  In  this  liberal  sentiment  the 
eminent  Turretin  agrees.* 

A  more  important  question  arises  :  — 

What  proof  have  we  that  these  ten  commandments  are 
binding  upon  us  ? 

The  delivery  of  this  law  of  the  two  tables  on  Sinai 
W  Jdhovali  to  the  hands  of  Moses  for  the  people  of 

^  .ill  X         V 

♦  See  Kenrick  (Bishop),  Theol.  Mor.  de  Decalogue,  c.  iv. 


I 


Lect.  XLIIL]         THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS. 


415 


Israel  was  not  its  first  promulgation.  It  had  been  the 
rule  of  God  for  man  from  the  creation,  though  unwrit- 
ten till  the  finger  of  God  engraved  it  amidst  the  terri- 
ble glories  of  his  presence.  From  the  beginning  he 
had  claimed  an  entire  sovereignty.  The  apostle  tells 
us,  in  the  first  chapter  of  Romans,  that  men  knew  God 
fi:om  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  that  idolatry  in  all 
its  forms  originated  in  their  departure  from  the  worship 
of  the  true,  incorruptible  God.  Reverence  for  the 
name  of  God  is  a  duty  clearly  consequent  upon  our 
allegiance  and  worship.  The  Sabbath  was  ordained  in 
Eden  on  the  day  after  the  creation  of  man,  while  he 
yet  was  sinless.  Honor  to  parents,  respect  of  human 
life,  purity  as  opposed  to  licentiousness,  the  right  of 
property,  veracity  or  truthfulness,  are  all  virtues  essen- 
tial to  a  social  constitution  in  w^hich  men  were  placed 
by  their  divine  author,  and  were  required  by  him  al- 
ways, as  many  facts  in  the  early  sacred  history  show. 
The  final  precept,  "  Thou  shalt  not  covet,"  enforces  the 
keeping  of  the  heart  before  him  who  reads  our  thoughts, 
and  is  a  resumption  of  the  previous  five,  while  the  ne- 
cessity of  such  inward  restraint  to  a  secure  morality 
was  fully  shown  by  the  manner  of  the  original  sin,  for 
had  not  the  man  and  woman  first  lusted  after  the  for- 
bidden fruit,  they  had  not  seized  it. 

We  learn  also  from  Holy  Scripture,  that  the  solemn, 
written  enunciation  of  this  law  was  an  act  of  God's 
merciful  care  over  his  people.  He  had,  as  the  apostle 
tells  us  (Gal.  ii.  8,  17),  preached  the  gospel  to  Abra- 
ham four  hundred  and  thirty  years  before,  when  he 
made  a  covenant  with  the  father  of  all  the  faithful,  say- 
ing, "  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blessed."  His  nat- 
ural posterity,  though  increased  to  a  very  considerable 


\\ 


; 


416 


THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS.  [Lect.  XLUL 


1/ 


people,  had  never  been  raised  to  the  style  of  a  distinct, 
free,  independent  nation,  until  Jehovah,  taking  his  place 
as  their  king,  led  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  with 
a  promise  of  bringing  them  into  the  land  promised  by 
him  to  their  fathers.     It  was  requisite,  therefore,  that 
there  should  be  a  glorious  inauguration  of  his  authority, 
with  a  publication  of  the  laws,  or  constitution,  accord- 
ing to  which  he  would  reign  ;  and  on  the  other  hand, 
that  the  people  should  declare  their  fealty  to  their  The- 
ocrat  by  pledging  themselves  to  obey  his  laws  or  accept- 
ing the  constitution  which  he  gave  them.     Hence  the 
transaction  at  Sinai  was  in  fact  a  covenant,  God  man- 
ifesting himself  on  the  mount,  Israel  protesting,  with 
united  voice,  "  All  that  the  Lord  hath  said,  will  we 
do,  and  be  obedient ;  "  in  token  of  which  "  Moses  took 
the  blood  "  <rf  burnt-offerings  and  peace-offerings,  "  and 
sprinkled  it  on  the  people,  and  said,  "  Behold  the  blood 
of  the  covenant  which  the  Lord  hath  made  with  you 
.concerning  all  these  words  "  (Ex.  xxiv.  3-8).      You 
will  observe  that,  according  to  the  analogy  of  all  Scrip- 
ture, Israel  stood  before  the  Lord  in  a  double  capacity,  • 
as  a  political  nation,  and  as  a  church,  —  as  the  natural 
offspring  of  Abraham,  and  as  the  type  (the  truly  faith- 
ful among  them  included  by  the  reality)  of  the  spiritual 
descendants  of  the  father  of  all  the  faithful,  the  seed 
©f  the  promised  seed,*  the  church  of  Christ  which  he 
liath  redeemed  out  of  all  ages  and  all  kindreds  of  the 
world.     The  inference  plainly  is,  that  the  law  is  bind- 
ing on  us,  who  profess  allegiance  to  God  through  the 
covenant  in  the  blood  of  Christ ;  not  the  political  law, 
which  C5Qacemed  Israel  as  a  nation,  or  the  ceremonial, 
which  was  done  away  by  Christ,  the  substance  of  its 

♦  Compare  Gal.  iii.  16,  and  Isaiah  liii.  10,  11. 


Lect.  XLIII.]         THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS. 


417 


shadows  and  the  reality  of  its  types,  but  the  moral 
law,  the  law  of  the  ten  precepts  on  the  two  tables, 
which,  as  they  had  been  binding  on  men  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world  until  Sinai,  are  binding,  since 
then,  until  the  end  of  the  world. 
^  This  is  the  more  obvious  from  the  indisputable  con- 
sideration, that,  as  the  effect  of  faith,  according  to  the 
evangelical  scheme,  is  to  produce  repentance  in  the  con- 
verted sinner  by  working  love  in  his  heart,  and  so  ena- 
bling him  to  overcome  the  temptations  of  the  world,  it 
must  follow  that  the  genuine  effects  of  saving  faith  are 
in  all  ages  the  same ;  and,  therefore,  the  fundamental 
rules  or  principles  of  a  godly  life  are  in  all  ages  the 
same.     Precepts  which  only  affect  men  in  the  regula- 
tion of  their  conduct  under  a  temporary  and  changea- 
ble system,  such  as  the  national  polity,  or  typical  pre- 
paratory ritual  of  the  Jews,  may,  for  that  reason,  be 
changed  or  abrogated ;  but  those  which  are  essential  to 
our  relations  as  human  creatures  with  God,  and  with 
our  fellow-creatures  under  the  social  system  God  has 
ordained  for  us  on  earth,  must  be  perpetual.     Such  are 
the  ten  commandments. 

Thus  we  find  this,  the  moral  law,  confirmed  by  our 
Lord  and  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  as  the  rule 
of  life  for  all  believers.  Every  precept  of  the  two 
tables  is  reinforced,  often  in  the  very  same  language 
and  with  a  distinct  recognition  of  the  source  from 
which  they  are  taken,  as  the  ground  of  the  authority. 
Exception  has,  it  is  true,  been  by  some  taken  with 
respect  to  the  fourth  commandment,  ordaining  the  rest 
of  the  Sabbath  in  order  to  its  sanctification.  That 
commandment,  they  say,  is  ceremonial,  therefore  be- 
longing to  the  law  of  ordinances  which  has  been  abol- 


VOL.  II. 


27 


I 


I 


1/ 


I 


418 


THR  XBH  COMMANDMENTS.         [Lect.  XLIU. 


islied  ;  and  typical^  relating  to  the  "  spiritnal  rest,"  or 
freedom  from  the  necessity  of  our  own  works,  as  ground 
of  justification,  that  God  may  perform  his  works  in  us 
for  Ms  own  glory.  We  shall  examine  this  matter  far- 
ther when  we  come  to  the  particular  study  of  the  fourth 
commandment ;  but  at  present  it  is  enough  to  say  that 
on  the  same  principles  which  require  us  to  take  the  law 
of  the  two  tables,  we  must  take  it  as  a  whole.  God 
himself  divided  the  moral,  the  political,  and  the  ceremo- 
nial liws  from  each  other,  so  that  we  have  no  right  to 
wrench  any  part  out  «f  one  to  put  it  in  one  of  the 
others.*  Besides,  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  was  given  to 
our  first  parents  while  yet  sinless  in  Eden,  and  there- 
fore to  the  whole  race,  irrespective  of  national  or  cer- 
emonial or  accidental  distinctions  of  any  kind  ;  nor  had 
it,  whatever  typical  character  it  acquired  afterwards, 
any  such  character  at  the  time  of  its  original  promul- 
gation. The  Saviour  himself,  when  he  asserted  that 
*'  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man  and  not  man  for  the 
Sabbath,"  not  only  points  out  the  spirit  of  the  precept 
in  which  it  is  to  be  obeyed,  but  establishes  the  univer- 
sality and  perpetuity  of  the  precept. 

There  is  another  remark  preliminary  to  our  exposi- 
tion of  the  commandments,  which,  in  consistency  with 
our  past  and  future  reasoning,  should  here  be  made. 

The  answer  to  the  93d  Question  states  that  "  the 
first "  table  "  teaches  us  how  we  are  to  behave  towards 
God  ;  the  second,  what  duties  we  owe  to  our  neigh- 
bor." This  languaore,  though  conformable  enough  to 
the  common  uses  of  the  terms,  is  not  strictly,  that  is  to 
say,  ethically,  accurate.  Properly,  we  owe  duty  only 
to  God.     He  only  is  our  Lord.     What  are  popularly 

*  Calvin's  Cat.  on  the  Fourth  Commandment. 


Lect.  XLIIL]  THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS. 


419 


termed  duties  to  our  neighbor  are  not,  therefore,  in  a 
strict  sense,  duties  to  him,  but  duties  to  God,  who  has 
commanded  us  so  to  deport  ourselves  toward  our  neio-h- 
bor  as  his  precepts  prescribe.  That  this  is  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Catechism  here,  we  know  from  what  Ursi- 
nus  (its  chief  author)  says  in  his  commentary  on  the 
place  :  "  The  Decalogue  is  divided,  according  to  the 
things  themselves  which  are  commanded  or  forbidden, 
into  the  iinmediate  and  mediate  worsldp  of  God,  Gen- 
erally, is  commanded  in  the  Decalogue  the  worship  of 
God ;  that  which  is  contrary  to  God's  worsliip  is  for- 
bidden. The  worship  of  God  is  either  immediate,  when 
moral  works  are  performed  immediately  unto  God,  or 
mediate,  when  moral  works  are  performed  unto  our 

neighbor  in  respect  of  God The  obedience  of 

the  second  table  of  the  law  is  not  the  immediate  wor- 
ship of  God,  as  the  obedience  of  the  first  is  ;  yet  is  it 
the  mediate  worship  of  God,  that  is,  such  as  is  per- 
formed to  God  in  our  neighbor  mediating,  or  coming 
between  God  and  us.  For  the  duties  [offices]  of  love 
toward  our  neighbor  ought  to  flow,  or  proceed,  out  of 
the  love  of  God  [qu.  love  to  God]  ;  and  being  so  per- 
formed, they  are  acceptable  to  God,  and  are  no  less 
done  to  God  himself  than  the  obedience  of  the  first 

table The  worship  required  in  the  two  tables 

differeth  in  [character  of]  its  objects  :  for  the  first  table 
has  an  immediate  object  only,  which  is  God ;  the  sec- 
ond has  both  an  immediate  object,  our  neighbor,  and 
farther  also  a  mediate  object,  God."  Hence  Ursinus, 
in  his  sermon  on  the  Decalogue,  comprises  it  generally 
in  God's  worship,  divided  into  two  parts :  1.  Immedi- 
ate, towards  God  alone  ;  2.  Mediate,  or  towards  our 
neighbor  for  God's  sake. 


420 


THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS.        [Lect.  XLIIl. 


The  value  and  even  necessity  of  this  careful  applica- 
tion of  terms  over  the  looser  language  of  the  text  will 
be  seen  when  we  consider  the  proneness  of  men  to  sep- 
arate the  two  tables  in  such  a  way  as  though  they  might 
observe  the  first  table  without  observing  the  second,  or 
the  second  without  observing  the  first.     The  former  is 
the  fatal  error  of  those  pharisaical  devotees  who  are 
zealous  in  prayers  or  other  forms  of  worship,  in  ortho- 
doxy of.  opinion  or  ceremonial,  while  they  neglect  char- 
ity of  heart  and  speech  and  act  towards  their  fellow- 
creatures.     The  unity  of  the  law  of  God  utterly  con- 
demns such  inconsistency,  and  shuts  the  gate  of  heaven 
ill  the  faces  of  all  who  practise  it.     There  is  no  love 
to  God  which  is  not  followed  by,  or  rather  does  not 
include,  love  to  our  neighbor ;  which  is  farther  shown 
by  the  fact  that  we  cannot,  as  in  the  address  Christ  has 
taught  us,  claim  God  as  our  Father  in  heaven,  without 
acknowledging   as   our   brethren   all   his   children    on 
earth.    The  other  is  the  equally  fatal  error  of  those  who, 
proud  of  their  personal  and  social  morality,  think  that 
they  can  keep  the  second  table  of  the  law  without 
observing  the  first,  or  love  their  neighbor  without  first 
loving  God  with  all  their  hearts,  and  rendering  him  the 
personal  and  public  homage  which  he  requires.     The 
very  source  of  the  law  condemns  this,  because  being 
the  law  of  God,  no  part  of  it  can  be  kept  without 
hearty  and  supreme  reverence  to  the  will  of  him  who 
ei\joins  the  whole.     The  very  order  of  the  law  con- 
demns it,  because  we  cannot  reach  the  second  table 
without  going  through  the  first.     The  very  terms  of 
the  law  condemn  it,  because,  if  we  are  to  love  God 
with  all  our  heart,   how  can  we  love   our   neighbor 
txcq)t  love  to  him  be  included  by  our  love  to  God  ? 


Lect.XLIII.]         THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS. 


421 


Again :  If  we  do  not  make  this  distinction,  that  is,  of 
duties  immediate  and  duties  mediate  to  God,  all  moral- 
ity is  thrown  into  uncertainty  and  confusion.     If  God 
be  the  central  source  and  central  object  of  all  duty,  no 
laws  emanating  from  him,  no  services  rendered  to  him, 
can  ever  clash,  as  no  number  of  straight  lines,  drawn 
from  a  given  point,  can  ever  cross  each  other,  or,  con- 
verging to  one  point,  can  ever  meet  except  in  that  point. 
While,  therefore,  we  consider  our  duty  referrible  to  God 
only,  there  can  be  no  confusion.    All  we  have  to  ascer- 
tain, is,  what  God  requires  of  us,  and  all  our  relative 
services  toward  our  fellow-men  fall  into  their  appropri- 
ate places  within  the  harmonious  whole.     But  when 
we  attempt  to   apportion    or   distribute   our    services 
among  our  fellow-men,  as  though  our  duty  were  to 
each  of  them,  we  find  the  number  of  relations  so  great, 
yet  so  intermingled,  that  we  cannot  see  how,  amidst 
the  variety  and  seeming  conflict  of  interests,  to  combine 
them  in  harmonious  proportions.     How  shall  a  man 
proportion  the  duty  he  owes  to  his  father  with  the  duty 
he  owes  to  his  mother,  when  their  commands  or  seem- 
ing interests  are  adverse  ?  —  the  duties  he  owes  to  con- 
flicting brothers  ?  —  the  duties  to  his  family  with  those 
he  owes  to  his  country,  or  those  to  his  country  with 
those  due  to  the  world  ?    No  human  intellect  has  grasp 
or  continuity  enough  to  reason  through  all  the  possi- 
bilities of  results,  to  determine  one  of  a  thousand  among 
the  difficulties  which  may,  and  every  day  do,  arise.    In- 
variable, supreme  love  to  God  is  the  only  clue  we  can' 
have  to  guide  us  through  what  is  plain  to  him,  but  an 
inextricable  labyrinth  to  us. 

Take,  for  example,  the  question  which  Arch-Deacon 
Paley  moots  in  his  Moral  Philosophy  (a  system  which 


: 


422 


THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS.  [Lect.  XLIII. 


should  never  be  tolerated  for  a  moment  under  any  pre- 
text in  a  Christian  school)  :  Is  it  ever  right  to  tell  a  lie  ? 
If  we  proceed  on  the  principle  that  all  our  duty  is  to 
God,  the  thing  is  settled  at  once,  for  God  requires  truth 
in  the  heart,  speech,  and  act ;  nor  can  we  imagine  it 
possible  that  in  any  circumstances  a  lie  can  be  accept- 
able to  him  ;  but  if,  adopting  the  division  which  Paley 
follows,    of  duty  to  God  and  duty  to   man,  the  latter 
separates  itself  from  the  first,  and  we  attempt  to  decide 
it  on  the  comparative  benefit  or  injury  of  the  results  to 
ourselves  or  others.    Thus  the  Arch-Deacon  asserts  that 
a  lie  is  justifiable  in  certain  cases,  as,  "  compliments  in 
the  subscription  of  a  letter;  a  servant's  denying  his 
master    [to  be   at  home]  ;  a  prisoner's   pleading  not 
guilty ;  an  advocate  asserting  the  justice,  or  his  belief 
in  the  justice,  of  his  client's  cause.     In  such  instances, 
no  confidence  is  destroyed,  because  none  was  reposed  ; 
no  promise  to  speak  the  truth  is  violated,  because  none 
was  given  or  understood  to  be  given."     Or  "  where 
the  person  you  speak  to  has  no  right  to  know  the  truth, 
or,  more  properly,  where  little   or  no   inconvenience 
results  from  the  want  of  confidence  in  such  cases :  as 
where  you  tell  a  falsehood  to  a  madman  for  his  own 
advantage ;  to  a  robber,  to  conceal  your  property ;  to 
an  assassin,  to  defeat  or  divert  him'from  his  purpose. 
The  particular  consequence  is,  by  the  supposition,  ben- 
eficial ;  and  as  to  the  general  consequence,  the  worst 
that  can  happen  is,  that  the  madman,  the  robber,  the 
assassin  will  not  tinist  you  again  ;  which  (beside  that 
the  first  is  incapable  of  deducing  regular  conclusions 
from  having  been  once  deceived,  and  the  last  two  not 
likely  to  come  in  your  way  a  second  time)  is  suffi- 
ciently compensated  by  the  immediate  benefit  which 


H: 


LECrr.XLlU.J         THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS.  423 

you  proposed  by  the  falsehood."     What  miserable  pal- 
tenng  is  this  !     If  a  lie  is  to  be  justified  by  mere  expe- 
diei^cy,  or  by  any  man's  judgment  of  expediency,  how 
shall  we  know  when  we  meet  falsehood  or  when  we 
meet  truth  ?     How  can  it  be,  that,  under  the  universal, 
perpetual,  and  particular  providence  of  God,  who  is 
infinitely  true,  a  falsehood  can  ever  issue  except  in  dis- 
order and  mischief?     Even  if  the  immediate  issue  be 
slight  or  even  apparently  beneficial,  is  not  the  general 
importance  of  truth  incomparably  above  such  petty, 
doubtful  considerations  ?     Yet  we  cannot  see,  how,  un- 
der such  a  system,  any  better  reasoning  could  be  pur- 
sued.    There  are  cases,  undoubtedly,  in  which  we  are 
not  under  obligation  to  speak  at  all,  or  even  when 
sUence  is  duty ;  but  if  we  speak,  and  speak  not  truth, 
we  serve  the  devil,  who  is  the  father  of  lies,  and  we 
shall,  if  we  repent  not  in  Christ,  have  our  portion  with 
him  under  the  wrath  of  a  just  God,  who  has  made 
truth  a  duty  to  himself,  and  a  lie  a  sin  against  himself. 
The  question  cited  is  but  one  of  innumerable  that  will 
arise  under  a  system  of  ethics  other  than  that  which 
makes  God  the  only  object  of  duty. 

For  this  reason  we  shall  adopt,  in  all  our  subsequent 
study  of  the  moral  law,  the  division  of  duty  into  duties 
to  God  immediate  and  mediate,  —  those  we  should  ren- 
der to  God  directly,  and  those  we  should  render  to  him 
through  his  creatures  in  serving  them  for  his  sake,  ac- 
cording to  his  command.* 

♦  This  is  the  division  adopted  and  pursued  by  Ursinus.    See  his  Com- 
mentary on  the  Catechism  here. 


H 


I  I 


i 


LECTURE   XLIV. 


THE  FIEST  COIIANMENT. 


SECOND    PART. 


n¥ 


THIRTY-FOURTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT. 

Quest.  XCI  V.     What  doth  God  enjoin  in  thejirst  command  f 

Ans.  That  I,  as  sincerely  as  I  desire  the  salvation  of  my  own  soul  avoid 
and  flee  from  all  idolatry,  sorcery,  soothsaying,  superstition,  invocation 
of  samts  or  any  other  creatures;  and  learn  rightly  to  know  the  only 
true  God;  trust  in  him  alone;  with  humility  and  patience  submit  to 
him;  expect  all  good  things  from  him  only;  love,  fear,  and  glorifv  him 
with  my  whole  heart;  so  that  I  renounce  and  forsake  all  creatures 
rather  than  commit  even  the  least  thing  contrary  to  his  will 

Quest.  XCV.     What  is  idolatry? 

Ans.  Idolatry  is,  instead  of,  or  besides  that  one  true  God,  who  has  mani- 
fested himself  in  his  word,  to  contrive  or  have  any  other  object  in 
which  men  place  their  trust. 

■pOLLOWING  the  division  of  duties  enjoined  hy  the 
■*•  ten  commandments,  as  set  forth  in  our  last  lecture, 
viz:  those  we  owe  to  God  immediately,  that  is,  di- 
rectly to  himself,  and  those  we  owe  to  him  mediately, 
that  is,  through  his  creatures,  we  now  proceed  to  the 
study  of  the  first  table  of  the  law,  comprising  the  first 
four  commandments,  each  of  which  has  immediate  ref- 
erence to  God  himself. 

The  first  of  these  is  fundamental  and  comprehensive, 
including,  with  a  force  peculiar  to  itself,  the  spirit  of 
the  other  three,  each  of  which  has  a  specific,  particu- 
lar direction.  Thus,  the  first  forbids  our  giving  to  any 
creature  the  place,  homage,  trust,  love,  or  obedience 
which  belongs  to  the  one  only  God.  The  second  for- 
bids our  having  low,  material,  or  sensuous  notions  of 


■ 


I 


428 


THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT. 


[Lect.  XLIV. 


God,  and  all  practices  that  tend  to  impair  our  belief 
and  recognition  of  his  pure,  spiritual  nature.  The 
third  forbids  all  profane  or  undevout  use  of  the  names, 
titles,  and  authoritative  sentences  of  God,  and  all  prac- 
tices that  tend  to  impair  the  awful  supreme  respect  in 
which  those  divine  terms,  with  their  significations,  should 
be  held.  The  fourth  enjoins  our  worship  and  pious 
remembrance  of  God  our  only  Creator  and  Lord,  espe- 
cially on  the  Sabbath-day,  which  he  has  consecrated  for 
that  holy  purpose ;  and  all  practices  that  tend  to  impair 
our  devotion  generally,  but,  particularly,  our  proper 
observance  of  the  day  he  has  set  apart^  for  himself. 

These  commandments  are  given  in  a  negative  form, 
but  they  enjoin  positively :  1.  Supreme  acknowledg- 
ment of  God.  2.  Practical  belief  in  his  essential  spir- 
ituality, that  is,  spirituality  of  essence  or  mode  of  beino-. 
3.  Reverence,  internal  and  external,  for  the  authority 
of  God,  and  all  that  relates  to  the  exercise  of  his  au- 
thority. 4.  Worship  of  God,  internal  and  external, 
and  cultivation  of  whatever  means  he  has  ordained  for 
our  worship  of  him.  The  order  of  these  precepts  and 
of  the  duties  they  enjoin  is  natural  and  necessary, 
showing  us  that  the  Decalogue  is  not  merely  a  collec- 
tion of  commandments,  but  a  system  of  morals  in  which 
each  has  its  appropriately  relative  place. 

The  First  of  these  is  the  subject  of  our  lesson  for 
to-day.     "  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me,'' 

The  idea  of  God  is  fundamental  to  all  religion  and 
morals ;  for  religion  is  the  honoring  of  God,  and  morals 
the  obeying  of  God.  Proof  of  the  existence  and  char- 
acter of  God  is  not  in  place  here,  that  having  been 
given  in  another  port  of  our  exposition,  and  now  by 
the  Catechism   is    considered    established.      But   it  is 


Lect.  XLIV.]  THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT. 


429 


required  that  we  know  what  is  meant  by  the  term 

God. 

First  :  The  use  of  the  word  in  the  plural  and  the 
phrase  ''  other  gods  "  show  that  God  is  not  a  personal 
name,  but  a  title,  or  official  appellation,  which  truly 
belongs  to  the  One  Supreme  only,  but  has  been  and 
may  be  usurped  by  others,  or  falsely  applied  to  others  ; 
as  the  apostle  says  (1  Cor.  viii.  5,  6)  :  "  For  though 
there  be  that  are  called  gods,  whether  in  heaven  or  in 
earth  as  there  be  gods  many  and  lords  many ;  but  to 
us  there  is  but  one  God,  the  Father,  of  whom  are  all 
things,  and  we  in  him,  — and  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by 
whom  are  all  things,  and  we  by  him."     The  word  ren- 
dered god,  or  gods,  in  the  Old  Testament,  literally  signi- 
fies high  ones,  and  thus  comparatively  is  applied  to 
angels,   and    even    to    princes    or   exalted   personages 
among  men,  as  David  says:  "I  will  praise  thee  wTth 
my  whole  heart;  before  the  gods  will  I  sing  praise 
unto  thee."     But  it  is  more  frequently  given  to  the 
imaginary  beings,  or  their  visible  representatives,  whom 
men,    departing   from    true   religion,   worshipped   and 
invoked  in  the  place  of  the  Creator,  who  is  God  over 
all,  blessed  forever.     These  false  gods  were  numerous, 
each  nation  and  often  each  family  having  their  tutelary 
divinities  ;  nay,  there  was  not  a  kingdom  or  process  of 
nature,  not  a  wind  or  stream  or  mountain  or  tree,  that 
had  not,  according  to  the  popular  creed,  its  particular 
divinity.     Such  an  ascription  of  divine  power  to  more 
than  one  supposed  being,  or  division  of  it  among  many," 
was  a  gross  insult  to  him  whose  will  is  the  sole  efficient 
energy  pervading  all  things,  as  he  created  all  things, 
and  is,  therefore,  forbidden  by  the  commandment.    The 
Sovereign  Giver  of  the  law  in  his  preface  distinguishes 


I 


430 


THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT.  [Lect.  XLIV. 


himself  from  th^  gods  of  the  nations,  saying  to  Israel : 
"I  am   the  Lord   [Jehovah]    thy  God,  which  have 
brought  thee  ml  of  tbt  lind  of  Egypt,  out  of  the 
house  of  bondage.      Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods 
before  me."     By  which  he  does  not  allow  the  gods  of 
the  nations  to  be  real,  but,  asserting  his  own  as  the  sole 
divinity,  declares  that  he  has  taken  Israel  under  his  al- 
mighty care,  revealing  himself  by  his  name,  Jehovah. 
This  was  the  title  by  which  he  required  his  people  to 
worship  him  ;  yet  it  is  no  more  than  God  a  personal 
name,  but  one  descriptive  of  his  nature.      Attempts 
have  been  made  to  define  its  meaning,  but  without  sat- 
iiliclorj  rotifil  j  that  which  approaches  nearest  is  par- 
allel to  the  description  of  himself  when  he  revealed  his 
presence  to  Moses,  saying,  "I  am  that  I  am,"  — an 
expression  declaring  at  once  the  eternity,  the  self-exist- 
ence and  incomprehensibleness  of  his  being.     It  is  well 
here  to  note  that  the  most  ancient  of  the  Thmtic  philos- 
ophers, whom  we  find  far  back  in  the  primitive  sects  of 
mankind  after  the  flood,  as  the  Chaldean,  from  whom  the 
Platonists  and  Gnostics  learned  their  uses  of  language, 
held  it  impious  to  give  a  name  to  the  Highest,  or  to 
attempt  in  any  way  a  description  of  his  essence,  but 
called  him  The  One.      It  is  also  remarkable,   that, 
among  cultivated  nations  at   least,  though  they  wor- 
shipped many  inferior  deities,  whose  favor  they  invoked 
and  whose  anger  they  deprecated,  there  was,  as  there  is 
now  among  the  idolatrous  peoples  of  the  East,  a  belief 
in  one   original  divinity,  whom  they  did   not  worship 
because  they  thought  him  too  sublimely  absorbed  in 
his  own  perfections  to  care  for  them  or  their  service. 
Nay,  there  is  sound  reasoning  for  believing  that  idola- 
try, at  the  beginning  of  its  deplorable  evils,  was  not  an 


Lect.  XLIV.]         THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT. 


431 


invention  of  false  deities  by  the  mind  seeking  after 
divinity,  but  a  departure  from  the  worship  of  the  true 
God  who  had  revealed  himself  to  the  fathers  of  our 
race.     Nor  was  it  so  much  a  denial  of  the  true  God 
as  the  putting  between  themselves  and  him  inferior 
bemgs,  or  powers,  who  exercised  over  them  immedi- 
ately an  authority  and  control  derived  from  the  original 
one.    This  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  Aaron,  when  he,  at  the 
impious  demand  of  the  Israelites  for  gods  to  go  before 
•  them,  copied,  in  what  our  translators  call  a  golden  calf, 
the  Egyptian  emblem  of  the  productive  or  agricultural 
power,  and  then  proclaimed  a  feast  in  honor  of  the 
idol  as  a  feast  to  Jehovah  (Exodus  xxxii.  4,  5),  he 
meant,  and  the  people  understood  him  to  mean,  not 
that  they  denied  the  supremacy  of  Jehovah,  but  that 
they  worshipped  him  as  represented  by  the  idol.     So 
the  apostle  (Romans  i.  20-23)  says  of  the  heathen  : 
"  When  they  knew  God,  they  glorified  him  not  as  God, 
[that  is,  they  did  not  give  him  the  spiritual  homage  due 
to  an  infinite  spirit,]  neither  were  thankful ;  but  became 
vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was 
darkened ;  professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became, 
fools,  and  changed  the  glory  of  the  uncorruptible  God 
[that  is,  the  eternal,  immaterial  God]  into  an  image 
made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to  birds,  and  fou"^- 
footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things."     Whatever  was 
afterwards  the  utterly  binitish  reliance  on  such  dumb 
idols  and  gross  fictions  of  their  depraved  fancy,  they  did 
not  intend  at  the  beginning  anything  more  than  to  rep- 
resent by  such  emblems  the  power  of  the  true  God, 
whose  spiritual  perfections  they  were  too  gross  to  ap- 
prehend.   Hence  we  see  that  the  real  nature  of  idolatry 
is  nothing  else  than  a  depraved  tendency  of  sensualized 
man  to  give  to  things  which  are  seen  the  trust  and  regard 


*t.<l 


432 


THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT.         [Lkct.  XLIV. 


which  should  go  through  them  and  above  them  to  the 
invisible  God,  to  rest  in  the  creature  rather  than  in  the 
Creator,  and  rely  on  the  palpable  means  instead  of  the 
'spiritual  directing  cause.  This  is  in  exact  accordance 
with  the  definition  of  idolatry  as  given  by  the  answer 
to  the  95th  Question. 

"  Idolatry  is,  instead  of,  or  beside,  the  one  true  God, 
Fho  hm  manifested  himself  in  his  word,  to  contrive 
[invent,  imagine]  or  to  have  any  other  object  in  which 
men  place  their  trust."  Whatever  be  the  object  to 
which  we  give  the  trust  or  any  part  of  the  trust  due  to 
the  Infinite  Supreme,  thus  putting  it  between  us  and 
Hm,  is  In  the  commandment  called  a  god,  "  Thou 
shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me." 

We  are  now  prepared  to  learn, 

Secondly  :  What  Crod  doth  enjoin  in  the  first  com- 
mand. 

The  answer  in  the  Catechism  is  very  instructive  and 
particular,  showing  that  by  the  word  trust,  in  the  defi- 
nition of  idolatry,  are  included  all  those  dispositions  and 
acts  of  the  soul  comprehended  by  the  wo  onip  and  ser- 
,yice  of  the  one  true  and  only  God.  It  (the  answer) 
has  two  parts, — the  one  teaching  us  what  the  command 
forbids,  the  other  what  it  requires.  If  we  ascertain 
^  truths  in  the  latter,  we  shall  clearly  understand 
those  in  the  former. 

1.  We,  or,  as  our  church  bids  us  each  answer  for 
himself,  "I,"  must  "learn  rightly  to  know  the  only 
true  God ;  trust  in  him  alone ;  with  humility  and  pa- 
tience submit  to  him ;  expect  all  good  things  from  him 
only  ;  love,  fear,  and  glorify  him  with  my  whole  heart, 
so  that  I  renounce  and  forsake  all  creatures  rather 
than  commit  [do]  even  the  least  thing  contrary  to  Jiis 

Will. 


iiii nil ■■ ■"■"t ■'4'''''H'^ 


Lect.  XLIV.]  THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT. 


433 


Here  are  several  divisions  of  the  great  duty  we  owe 
to  God. 

1.  Right  knowledge  of  God.      The    command  ex- 
pressly forbids  any  other  gods  but  the  one  Jehovah  or 
Lord.    To  imagine  him,  either  from  ignorance  or  way- 
wardness, to  be  in  any  respect  other  than  he  is,  is  not 
to  acknowledge  the  true  God,  but  to  set  up  in  his  place 
a  creature  of  our  own  fancy;  and  as  we  cannot  know 
God  otherwise  than  from  himself,  it  is  our  primary  duty 
to  know  what  he  is  from  his  own  revelation  of  himself 
m  the  Scriptures  ;  therefore  our  ideas  of  God  are  true 
only  so  far  as  they  are  conformable  in  character  and 
degree  to  those  given  of  him  in  his  own  word.     There 
are  mysteries  in  the  divine  nature  as  far  above  our 
comprehension  as  the  infinite  is  above  the  finite  ;  but 
the  Spirit,  which  "  searcheth  even  the  deep  things  of 
God,"  has  declared  all  that  it  is  profitable  for  us  to 
know  this  side  of  heaven,  and  no  more.     There  i»  no 
reasoning  beyond  this,  because  we  have  no  facts  from 
which  to  draw  inferences,  no  data  on  which  to  found 
our  conclusions.     We  have  no  more  right  to  go  beyond 
what  is  written  than  we  have  to  withhold  our  belief 
from  what  is  written.    The  God  of  the  Bible  is  the  one 
only  true  God. 

2.   Trust  in   him.      The  Scripture   reveals  him  as 
infinitely  perfect  in  all  his  attributes ;  and,  therefore, 
his  absolute  government  must  be  infinitely  wise  and 
just,  and,  in  Christ,  full  of  goodness  and  mercy  toward 
all  who  acknowledge  him  to  be  their  God.     Hence,  if* 
we  rightly  know  God,  our  confidence  will  be  complete, 
unhesitating,  unfaltering,  and  fiill   of  peace.      "  The 
Lord  reigneth,  let  the  earth  rejoice."     Such  trust  will 
make  us  humbly  and  patiently  submissive  to  all  his 


VOL.  II. 


28 


Of 


434 


THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT.        [Lect.  XLIV. 


dispensations,  however  tryinnj  or  unintelligible,  towards 
us ;  for  are  we  not  wholly  dependent  on  him,  and  is  it 
not  his  omnipotent,  unchangeable  will  to  provide  for 
his  children's  best  good  in  the  future  as  at  the  present, 
in  time  and  in  eternity  ?  When  there  is  perfect  confi- 
dence ill  CM,  there  can  be  neither  discontent,  impa- 
tience, or  despondency.  He  is  "  the  same  yesterday,  to- 
day, and  forever";  therefore  the  past,  the  present,  the 
future  in  his  almightv  hands  are  right.  Therefore  our 
Lord  taught  us  to  pray  to  him  as  our  Father  in  heav- 
en, ••  Thy  kingdom  come,  fliy  will  be  done  on  earth  as 
it  is  in  heaven  ; "  and  himself,  our  divine  example  of 
human  piety,  when  passing  through  his  unutterable 
grief  for  our  atonement,  took  the  cup  into  his  trem- 
bling hand,  saying,  "  Father,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou 
wilt." 

3.  The  love  of  our  whole  hearts.  Love  is  the 
grand  attraction  by  which  God  unites  all  holy,  intel- 
ligent creatures  to  himself,  and  in  him  to  each  other. 
It  is  the  union  which  secures  the  harmony  of  the  godly 
in  Christ  We  love  that  which  we  admire  and  delight 
to  contemplate ;  and  God  is  the  original  and  infinite 
perfection  of  all  that  is  worthy  of  our  admiration  and 
delight ;  therefore  should  he  have  our  affectionate,  glad 
adoration  :  we  love  those  from  whom  we  receive  the 
elements  and  means  of  our  happiness  ;  and  God  is  the 
author  and  giver  of  all  good  :  we  love  those  who  love 
us,  and  have  fellowship  with  us  ;  and  God  loves  us 
with  an  everlasting,  boundless,  tender  love,  as  his  crea- 
tures, his  servants,  and  children  ;  therefore  should  we 
give  him  our  first,  best,  highest  love ;  nay,  our  hearts 
should  be  so  filled  with  love  to  him  that  no  love  to  any 
creature  can  find  room  within  it,  except  as  it  is  com- 


Lect.  XLIV.]  THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT.  435 

pfehended  and  sanctified  by  supreme  affection,  esteem, 
gratitude,  and  desire  for  the  one  only  true  God. 

4.  Fear.     Not  the  terror  which  the  power  of  an 
enemy  inspires,  nor  the  servile  dread  which  forces  sub- 
mission to  a  hard,  irresistible  master ;  but  a  reverence 
filhng  the  heart  that  is  filled  with  love,  an  awful  hom- 
age to  his  sovereign  majesty,  humble  veneration  of  his 
infinite  attributes,  jealous  caution  lest  we  offend  against 
his   will,   and  a  constant  sense  of  his  holy  presence 
searching  our  thoughts  and  taking  account  of  all  our 
doings.     The  devils  tremble  while  they  believe  in  the 
vindictive  authority  of  the  one  only  true  God  ;  but  the 
angels  veil  their  faces  and  worship  close  to  the  glory  of 
his  throne :  so  his  true  children  never  love  him  more 
or  obey  him  more  gladly  than  when,  bowing  lowest  at 
his  feet,  they  adore  him  Lord  over  all,  and  acknowledge 
that  in  him  alone  they  "  live  and  move  and  have  thdr 
beinor." 

5.  The  result  of  this  knowledge,  trust,  love,  and  fear 
■  of  God,  the  only  God,  is  an  entire  consecration  to  his 
service;  or,  as  the  Catechism  has  it,  we  "glorify  him 
with  our  whole  heart,  so  that  we  renounce  and  forsake 
all  creatures  rather  than  commit  the  least  thin^  con- 
trary to  his  will."     God  is  our  creator,  therefore  he  is 
our  owner ;  he  is  our  only  king,  therefore  we  are  his 
subjects  alone ;  he  is  our  only  teacher,  therefore  we 
should  learn  from  him  alone  ;  he  is  our  only  benefac- 
tor, therefore  our  whole  lives  should  be  thank-offerings  - 
to  his  love ;  he  is  before  all  things,  and  by  him  all 
things  consist,  therefore  is  he  alone  "  worthy  to  re- 
ceive honor  and  glory  and  blessing."     So  the  true  be- 
liever in  the  one  only  God  makes  it  the  purpose  of  his 
heart,  as  it  is  the  purpose  of  his  creation,  to  glorify  God 


436 


THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT.        [Lect.  XLIV. 


Lkct.XLIV.]         the  first  COMMANDMENT. 


437 


in  all  his  tlioughts  and  words  and  wavs,  that  his  Maker 
may  delight  in  him,  and  men,  '*  seeing  his  good  works, 
may  glorify  his  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 

II.  The  sin  forbidden  by  the  command  is  the  oppo- 
site of  all  this.  It  **  enjoins,"  as  the  Catechism  says, 
"  That  I,  as  sincerely  as  I  desire  the  salvation  of  my 
soul,  avoid  and  flee  from  all  idolatry;''^  and  idolatry, 
as  defined  in  answer  to  the  next  question,  is  the  hav- 
ing any  other  object  of  trust  than  the  one  true  God. 
Whenever,  therefore,  we  give  to  any  creature  that 
which  belongs  to  God  only,  we  are  idolaters,  and  the 
object  of  such  impious  trust  is  an  idol.  It  matters  not 
what  it  is :  an  image  cut  out  of  wood  or  stone,  an  imag- 
ination of  our  own  as  to  what  God  is  or  should  be,  the 
laws  or  processes  of  nature,  worldly  possessions,  honor 
or  opinions,  relatives  or  friends,  human  skill,  wisdom, 
or  power,  —  whatever  it  be,  if  we  so  set  our  hearts 
upon  it  as  to  bring  it  between  us  and  God,  it  is  an  idol. 
In  these  days  Christianity  has  so  far  enlightened  us 
Protestants  that  none  of  you,  my  hearers,  would  do 
such  an  absurd  thing  as  to  set  up  an  altar,  offer  sacri- 
fices, and  make  prayers  to  any  created  thing.  Yet  we 
are  scarcely  less  idolaters  if,  for  any  reason,  we  turn 
away  from  God  and  put  our  trust  elsewhere,  instead  of 
depending  on  him  alone,  and  on  him  as  he  has  made 
himself  known  by  his  divine  word.  Idolatry  is  a  great 
sin,  but  atheism  is,  if  possible,  a  greater.  It  is  a  gross, 
profane  absurdity  to  worship  a  false  god ;  but  what 
shall  be  said  of  those  who  worship  no  God  ?  Yet  such 
is  their  atheism,  who  do  not  by  a  hearty  homage,  trust, 
and  affection  glorify  him  in  whom  their  "breath  is 
and  in  whose  hands  are  all  their  ways."  There  are 
few  irreligious  persons  among  the  heathen ;    such  as 


their  religion  is,  they  practise  it ;  but  among  us  the 
irreligious  are  many :  they  know  too  much  to  worship 
images  ;  they  are  not  willing  to  worship  the  God  of  the 
Bible;  and,  therefore,  they  worship  no  God  at  all. 
God  is  not  in  their  thoughts ;  they  do  not  seek  him,  or 
trust  in  him,  or  obey  him,  or  give  him  glory.  They 
"  love  the  world  and  the  things  of  the  world,"  but 
"  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  them."  Will  not 
God  be  avenged  of  such  sinners  as  these  ? 

There  has  always   been  a  disposition   in   mankind 
to  pry  into  the  fiiture,  or  things  hidden  from   mere 
human  knowledge  ;  hence  the  practice  in  all  ages  and 
countries  of  what  is  comprehended  under  the  general 
name  of  divination.     The  term  itself  shows  that  it  is 
an  attempt,  from  extraordinary  signs  in  nature  which  is 
under  divine  control,  from  some  spiritual  being  superior 
in  knowledge  to  ourselves,  or  mortal  supposed  to  be  su- 
pernaturally  endowed  or  inspired,  to  learn  that  which 
the  true  God  has  not  revealed.    It  is  most  probable,  that, 
as  idolatry  was  originally  a  departure  from  the  true  God, 
so  divination  began  with  profane  attempts  to  counterfeit 
the  miraculous  signs  and  portents  by  which  God,  in 
early  ages,  made  known  his  presence  and  his  will,  as 
also  the  prophecies  which  he  caused  to  be  uttered  by 
men  immediately  under  his  impulse.     The  origin  of 
magic  in  Chaldea,  near  the  cradle  of  our  postdiluvian 
race,  whence  it  passed  into  India  (where  it  received 
that  name),  Egypt,  and  other  parts  of  the  world,  is  a 
strong  indication  of  this.     The  arts  of  such  divination 
have  been  so  various  and  many,  that  volumes  could  not 
enumerate  them  ;   and  the  Catechism  makes  mention 
of  only  four  or  five. 

1.   Sorcery^   which   is  a  resort   to   the   evil   spirit, 


!i 


488  THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT.  [Lect.  XLIV. 

who,  according  to  a  very  early  belief,  was  a  being  of 
great  malignity  in  power  and  wisdom,  rivalling  the 
spirit  of  good.  A  modern  name  for  it  is  diabolism, 
devilism,  or  the  black  art.  To  ask  counsel  or  aid  of 
the  devil  is  flat  insult  to  the  true  God. 

2.  Soothsaying,  as  it  is  in  the  Dutch  (^waer  seg- 
ginge),  or,  as  it  is  in  the  German,*  superstitious  resort 
to  charms  or  incantations  (abergVduUsche  Sageri),  com- 
prehends all  use  of  enchantments  and  consultation  of 
persons  pretending  skill  in  such  deceits. 

3.  Superstition,  which  is  an  over-credulity,  attrib- 
uting, without  reason  or  scriptural  faith,  meanings  and 
effects  to  things  and  occurrences  with  which  they  have 
no  connection,  —  as,  thinking  Friday  an  unlucky  day, 
or  a  comet  ominous  of  disaster,  or  that  chances  at 
cards,  or  fortune-telling  tables,  show  any  facts  beyond 
ordinary  providence  and  the  revealed  Scriptures.  (It 
is  noteworthy  here,  that  superstition  is  distinguished 
from  veneration  of  the  true  God  by  always  producinor 
gloom  and  dread.  It  is  "  the  spirit  of  fear,"  as  opposed 
to  "  the  spirit  of  love  and  of  power  and  of  a  sound 
mind.**)  In  a  word,  whatever  notion  or  act,  especially 
in  attempting  to  get  a  knowledge  of,  or  control  over, 
things  not  shown  us  by  God  in  nature  or  the  Bible, 
which  is  not  consistent  with  a  simple  trust  in  his  over- 
ruling providence  and  grace.  We  must  not  delude  our 
pride  by  thinking  such  profane  follies  peculiar  to  hea- 
then nations  and  darker  ages.  Superstition,  in  various 
forms,  is  rife  among  us  at  this  very  time,  and  will  continue 
to  prevail  until  Christian  faith,  enlightening  reason,  has 
cast  out  all  power  of  the  devil  from  our  hearts.     In- 

*  There  is  a  variation  here  from  the  German  in  the  Dutch  version. 


Lect.  XLIV.]         THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT. 


439 


deed,  it  would  seem  to  have  received  a  new  impulse, 
and  to  meet  with  ready  dupes,  since  so-called  spiritual- 
ism, (which  is  nothing  else  than  necromancy,  or  super- 
natural communication  with  departed  spirits,)  the  silli- 
est of  all  divining  contrivances,  has  obtained  so  wide  a 
credence,  and  that  even  among  cultivated  minds.     No 
true  Christian,  worshipping  the  true  God,  should  give 
the  slightest  heed  to  such  miserable  impiety,  nor  will 
he  be  ensnared  by  it  so  long  as  he  maintains  a  lively 
faith  in  the  promises  of  his  heavenly  Father ;  for  then 
he  will  believe  none  but  the  God  of  the  Bible,  and 
desire  to  know  no  more  than  what  God  teaches  him. 
Hence  our  church,  at  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
supper,  solemnly  and  peremptorily  bars  from  its  pre- 
cious privileges   "all  enchanters,   diviners,    charmers, 
and  those  who  confide  [or  put  faith]  in  such  enchant- 
ments."    Let  us,  beloved,  seeing  how  weak  our  human 
nature  is,  beware,  lest  we  also,  being  led  away  with 
the  error  of  the  wicked,  fall  from  our  own  steadfast- 
ness.    "  Let  us  walk  in  the  light  as  children  of  the 
light,  because  the  darkness  is  past,  and  the  true  light 
now  shineth." 

4.  Invocation  of  saints  or  other  creatures.  This 
sin  is  pronounced  by  our  church,  in  her  form  for  the 
Lord's  supper,  as  not  at  all  compatible  with  genuine 
faith.  In  both  places,  worship  of  deceased  saints  and 
even  angels,  by  invoking  their  aid  or  asking  them  to 
intercede  for  us  with  God,  as  practised  and  approved 
by  the  Papal  church,  is  particularly  aimed  at  and  de- 
nounced. It  is  nothing  else  than  a  practice  of  ancient 
heathenism,  which  made  gods  of  dead  heroes,  or  kings, 
or  wise  men,  and  therefore  should  have  no  place 
among  Christians.     It  is  the  extreme  of  irrationalism 


3    f 


THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT.         [Lkct.  XLIV. 


I' 
i 


to  dream  that  a  hiiiiiili  splfit  can  have  the  oinnipreseiit 
heart-searching  faculty  of  God,  so  as  to  hear  our  pray- 
ers and  know  our  thoughts  ;  nor  is  there  a  word  of 
Scripture  to  encourage  a  thouglit  that  God  has  ever 
committed,  or  will  commit,  such  power  upon  any  crea- 
ture. There  is  one,  "  and  but  one  Mediator  between 
God  and  man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  who  is  also  Im- 
manuel  God  with  us."  It  is  a  fiction  of  antichrist,  to 
give  to  any  other  the  prerogative  which  is  Christ's 
alone,  and  therefore  violates  the  first  and  greatest  of 
all  the  commandments. 

You  see,  then,  brethren,  how  great  a  blessing  we 
enjoy  in  the  Scriptures  of  our  Christian  faith.  "  The 
world  by  wisdom  [of  its  own]  knew  not  God ; "  and 
when  unwilling  to  have  his  holy  image  in  their  thoughts, 
they  ceased  to  w^orship  him,  who  is  a  spirit,  in  spirit 
and  in  truth ;  they  sank  into  all  the  irrational,  degrad- 
ing, cruel,  lascivious  vices  of  heathenism.  We  pity  their 
stupidity ;  we  abhor  their  practices.  Yet  such  were  our 
own  ancestors,  and  such  should  we  ourselves  be,  but 
for  the  light  of  "  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed 
God."  Jehovah,  who  led  his  ancient  Israel  out  of  the 
house  of  bondage,  has  led  us  and  our  fathers  out  of 
worse  slavery.  Let  us  bless  his  holy  name,  and,  offer- 
ing him  the  undivided  homage  of  our  hearts,  entreat 
him,  while  we  rely  only  on  his  grace,  to  keep  us  from 
falling. 

Remember,  also,  dearly  beloved,  that  it  needs  not  a 
sculptured  image,  or  invocation  of  a  demon,  or  charm, 
or  incantation,  to  constitute  idolatry.  Whatever  comes 
between  us  and  God,  receiving  the  trust  which  should 
be  put  in  him  alone,  or  shutting  out  from  us  the  blessed 


Lect.  XLIV.]         THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT. 


441 


light  which  shines  in  his  gracious  countenance,  is  an 
idol. 

Nay,  if  we  do  not  know  him  and  Jesus  Christ,  wor- 
shipping him,  through  our  only  Mediator,  with  all  the 
love  of  our  hearts,  all  the  adoration  of  our  minds,  all 
the  strength  of  our  souls,  we  are  idolaters,  because  we 
may  be  sure  that  some  creature  has  come  between  us 
and  him.  Let  these  awful  words,  O  Holy  Spirit,  be 
written  deep  in  our  hearts  :  — 
"Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me." 


n 


If   'i  : 


t 


li 


ri 


.1' 


Hi 


LECTURE   XLV. 


ON  TIE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTOEY  OP  IDOLATRY. 


1 


'■i 


II  tl- 


I 


n 


'I 


THIRTY -FIFTH    LORD'S    DAY. 


ON   THE 


ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY   OF  IDOLATRY. 

T^HE  religious  worship  of  any  object  other  than  the 
Infinite  Supreme  is  so  contrary  to  pure  reason,  and 
the  prevalence  of  the  monstrous  error,  where  an  immedi- 
ate or  a  written  revelation  has  not  shed  its  divine  light, 
so  nearly  universal,  that  the  origin  and  history  of  idola- 
try should  excite  a  grave  curiosity  in  the  mind  of  every 
thoughtful  Christian.     The  evident  proneness  of  our 
race  to  the  deadly  sin,  and  the  deep  moral  degradation 
by  which  it  is  infallibly  accompanied  and  followed,  ren- 
der the  inquiry  one  of  the  utmost  practical  importance. 
There  is  the  more  need  of  thoroughly  investigating  the 
subject,  from  the  fact,  too  little  known,  that  the  specious 
but  deadly  sophistries  of  infidel  speculators,  especiallv 
those  of  the  French  School  during  the  last  century,  have 
been  suffered  to  pervade  the  treatises  of  Christian  stu- 
dents, and  thence  the  opinions  of  Christians  generally. 
We  must  refute  and  utterly  repudiate  their  falsities  be- 
fore we  can  take  the  first  step  in  the  right  direction ; 
nor  will  the  refutation  be  difficult  if  we  meet  them  at 
their  starting-point,  and  compare  their  imaginary  data 
with  the  statements  of  Scripture,  and  the  corroboration 
of  those  statements  by  reason  and  history. 

The  grand  falsity  of  these  philosophers,  and  the  basis 
on  which  they  have  built  all  their  scheme,  is  the  as- 
sumption that  barbarism  and  ignorance  was  the  original 


446 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


[Lect.  XLV. 


a 


state  of  man ;  and  that,  by  the  force  of  natural  reason 
acthig  on  the  inconveniences  and  growing  necessities  of 
such  a  state,  they  have  evolved  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil,  the  laws  of  property,  general  virtue,  the  combina- 
tions of  government,  in  a  word,  the  whole  social  sys- 
tem ;  nay,  ignorant  in  a  great  degree  of  natural  causes, 
and  stimulated  by  a  desire  of  happiness,  which  the  least 
experience  taught  them  was   beyond  their  ability  to 
secure,  they  sought  the  aid  and  deprecated  the  wrath 
of  a  higher  power,  and  so  constructed  a  religion  in  the 
worship,  first,  of  perceptible  forces,  as,  light,  wind,  the 
§m  of  waters,  vegetation,  —  then,  of  imaginary  beings, 
invisible  but  ever  active,  controlling  those  forces.   These 
they  represented  to  the  eye  by  various  forms,  princi- 
pally an  exaggeration  of  the  human,  grotesque,  or  beau- 
tiful, according  to  their  taste,  clothing'  them  with  ap- 
propriate attributes  and  symbols.     When  knowledge 
increased,  and  cultivated  reflection  showed  them   the 
need  of  a  yet  higher  authority  to  which  men  should 
feel  themselves  responsible,  they  attained  the  ideas  of  a 
Supreme  Being  and  a  future  state  of  reward  and  pun- 
ishment.     The  more  atheistical  of  the  anti-scriptural 
tlieorists  ridicule  all  such  efforts  after  religion  as  slav- 
ishly  superstitious,  and  denounce  religion  itself  as  an 
imposture  of  priests  and  tyrants  combining  to  hold  the 
vulgar  in  subjection  by  visionary  terrors ;  hence  the 
atheism  of  revolutionary  France  ;  but  those  who  are 
not  willing  to  deny  God  a  place  in  the  universe,  con- 
tend that  all  religion  has  been  a  legitimate,  gradual 
discovery  by  the  human  soul  seeking  after  truth,  as  the 
poet  expresses  it :  — 

"  Through  nature  up  to  nature's  God." 

This  scheme,  as  you  see,  finds  man  living  apart  in  a 


!t 


Lect.  XLV.] 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


447 


wilderness,  scarcely  raised  above  the  wild  brutes,  sub- 
sisting by  the  chase  or  fishing,  and  on  vegetables  of 
spontaneous  growth, — then,  as  families  increased,  and 
these  resources  became  inadequate,  contriving  the  arts 
of  life  and  the  morals  requisite  for  communities,  of 
which  religion  is  the  highest.  Two  facts  are  thus  ad- 
mitted, which  we  note,  because  useful  to  our  future 
argument  and  fatal  to  that  of  our  opponents :  first, 
that  man  had  a  beginning ;  secondly,  that  he  has  a 
natural  tendency  towards  religion,  as  necessary  to  the 
development  of  his  better  condition.  The  human  sav- 
age could  not  have  sprung  into  being  uncaused,  and 
with  filial  instinct  must  have  sought  his  author. 

The  scheme  is,  however,  contradicted  by  all  history 
and  the  traditions  of  our  race.  We  have  no  accredited 
instance  of  a  people  elevating  themselves  out  of  barba- 
rism to  civilization  without  foreign  aid.  Some  plausi- 
ble attempts  have  been  made  to  adduce  instances  of 
the  kind,  as  the  ancient  Mexicans  and  the  Greeks,  the 
civilization  of  both  of  whom  have  been  claimed  to  be 
indigenous ;  but,  putting  aside  other  facts  which  our 
time  will  not  allow  us  to  cite,  the  great  fact  cannot  be 
questioned,  that  there  was  civilization  in  the  world 
antecedent  to  their  rise.  The  source  from  which  the 
Mexican  sprang,  and  their  early  condition,  are  too 
deeply  obscure  to  permit  any  theory  of  their  growth, 
though  the  character  of  their  monuments  strongly 
savors  of  an  eastern  transoceanic  kindred.  But  with 
regard  to  European,  or,  indeed,  the  whole  of  the  old- 
world  civilization,  we  can  —  unless  we  ignore  the  uni- 
versal voice  of  classical  antiquity,  backed  by  proof  in 
the  names  of  places,  rivers,  mountains,  and  cities,  fixing 
unalterably  the  main  truth  of  their  traditions  —  trace 


't 


\ 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


[Lect.  XLV. 


die  transfer  of  grafts  of  civilization  from  the  farthest 
east  to  the  ultimate  north.     Greece  avowed  her  deri- 
Yation  of  culture  from  Asia  and  Egypt.     The  very 
names  about  tl»  Athenian  Acropohs  perpetuate  those  of 
the  Egyptian  immigrants  who  introduced  laws  and  arts 
among  her  aboriginal  Pelasgi.     From  the  beginning  of 
her  annals,  down  to  the  northern  invasion,  her  people, 
philosophers  as  well  as  the  ilhterate,  regarded  the  east- 
em  lands  much  as  we  Americans  regard  Europe.   Their 
religious  system  and  ceremonies  were  to  a  great  extent 
the  same  as  the  Egyptian.     The  most  trusted  oracle  of 
all  was  that  of  Jupiter  Ammon  in  the  Libyan  desert, 
and  he  was  clearly  the  Osiris  of  Egypt  and  probably 
the  Ham  of  the  Ethiopians  ;  while  the  Egyptians  them- 
selves frankly  owned  that  they  liad  derived  their  sys- 
tenif  religious  and  philosophical,  from  afar  more  remote 
period.     We  all  know  the  influence  of  Greece  over 
Italy,  and  of  Italy  over  northern  Europe  ;    nay,  that 
maritime  part  of  Italy  about  the  modern  Naples  and 
eastward  to  the  sites  of  Crotona  and  Lybaris,  are  full 
of  evidences  that  Egyptian  influences  were  there  long 
before  those  of  Greece.    Similar,  though  not  so  distinct, 
traces  of  Phoenician  emigration  may  be  found  in  more 
northern  Europe  as  in  Southern  France  and  in  Ireland, 
or,  if  we  credit  acute  ethnologists,  in  various  other  re- 
gions.    From  Europe  civilization  has  come  here  to  the 
western    continent,  and  is  now  rolling  back  the  tide 
over    the   decayed    nations  from   which   it   originally 
flowed.     All  this,  and  in  many  ways  we  have  no  time 
to  particularize,  points  backward  and  backward  until 
we  reach  the  acknowledged  seat  of  the  first  human 
philosophy  in  Chaldea, close  to  the  region  which  Scrip- 
ture makes  the  second  cradle  of  the  race,  where  the 


!♦ 


Lect.  XLV.] 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


449 


great  temple  of  Babel,  or  Baal,  or  Bel,  or  Belus,  was 
built,  and  whence  was  the  dispersion  of  the  nations. 
We  find  the  notion  of  man's  original  barbarism  no- 
where in  antiquity,  but  always  the  reverse,  — a  chief  ^'^ 
proof  of  which  was  the  general  traditionary  belief  in  a 
golden  age  when  man  was  fresh  from   the  creating 
power,  of  which  Hesiod,  as  old  as  Homer,  or,  as  many 
think,  older,  gives  a  glowing  description,  accompanied 
with  many  other  asserted  facts  corroboratory  of  our 
position.     Allow  us  but  the  one  fact,  that  man  had  a 
beginning,  and  his  origin  must  be  attributed  to  a  crea- 
tor, —  then  it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  the  intelli- 
gent cause  who  gave  him  such  a  wonderful  being,  phys- 
ically, intellectually,  and  morally,   would  have  intro- 
duced his  creature  into  the  world  a  mere  savage  and 
without  knowledge  of  Him  « in  whom  his  breath  was 
and  in  whose  hands  were  all  his  ways,"  or,  as  the 
heathen   poet,  quoted  by  Paul   on  Areopagus,  says, 
whose  "  offspring  "  he  was. 

It  is  remarkable  also,  and  as  susceptible  of  clear 
proof  as  it  is  remarkable,  that  men,  so  far  from  becom- 
ing more  moral  and  religious  as  they  descended  from 
antiquity,  actually  grew  worse  and  w^orse.  This  was 
seen  in  the  history  of  their  philosophy,  as  well  as  in 
that  of  the  people  ;  nor  were  they  ever  weary  —  philos- 
ophers, poets,  historians,  and  moralists  —  of  praising  the 
ancient  manners  and  regretting  their  decay.  In  the 
same  manner  we  hear  them  always  ascribing  their  re-  , 
ligious  habits  to  the  example  of  the  past,  never  claim- 
ing them  as  inventions  of  their  own.  One  of  the  finest 
passages  of  Plato,  respecting  the  existence  of  divine 
power  and  the  duty  of  worship,  is  an  indignant  burst 
of  astonishment  that  any  could  doubt  the  gods,  when 


i: 


Ml 

ij 


I 


VOL.  11. 


29 


450 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


[Lect.  XLV. 


they  all  had  been  taught  the  elements  of  rehgion  on 
their  nurses'  laps  and  at  their  mother's  knee,  and  by 
the  unanimous  example  of  all  people,  civilized  and  bar- 
barian,  who  worship  in  temples  and  bow  down  at  the 
rising  and  setting  of  the  sun.     A  clear  acknowledg- 
ment  that  such  faith  was  traditionary.     Indeed,  so  uni- 
versal was  this  reference  to  divinity,  that  all  the  older, 
more  eminent  legislators  and  teachers  claimed  the  re- 
spect of  the  multitude  on  account  of  a  divme  mspira- 
tion.     The  founders  of  states  boasted  a  divine  lineage. 
Lvcurgus  in  Greece,  as  Numa  in  Rome,  asserted  them- 
selves to  be  the  mediums  of  divine  instruction.    Pythag- 
oras, at  once  the  head  of  a  sect  and  the  founder  of  a 
philosophical  republic,  who  drew  his  mystical  doctrines 
from  Ecrypt,  was  called  by  his  disciples  the  Son  of  God, 
and  assumed  miraculous  gifts.     Plato,  on  whose  mfant 
lips  a  swarm  of  bees  lovingly  clustered,  was  on  similar 
testimony  virgin-born ;  and  even  the  grave,  good  Soc- 
rates had,  as  he  asserted,  his  guardian  demon.      The 
old  poets,  who  were  also  the  historians  and  the  proph- 
ets of  early  times,  readily  received  the  epithet  "  divine 
from  their  supposed  inspiration.     It  were  easy  to  cite 
a  multitude  of  like  instances,  showing  that  the  human 
mind  has  never  been  satisfied  with  mere  human  author- 
ity, but  has  always  demanded  divine   testimonies  to 

moral  doctrines. 

If,  as  we  have  shown,  the  common  belief  of  man- 
kind has  been  always  against  the  idea  that  barbarism 
was  man's  original  condition,  and  that  his  progress  has 
been  toward  refinement  and  religion,  the  books  of  the 
Scriptures  contradict  it  even  more  positively.  We  see 
the  two  brothers  near  the  gate  of  Eden,  —  one  a  tiller 
of  the  ground,  the  other  a  shepherd.    The  earliest  work 


Lect.  XLV.] 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


451 


recorded  of  Noah  after  the  deluge  was  the  planting  of 
a  vineyard.  The  circumcised  patriarchs,  because  pil- 
grims without  a  country,  were  migratory  herdsmen, 
while  the  farthest  records  show  us  Egypt  eminent  for 
its  agricultural  wealth,  and  ruled  by  shepherd-kings. 
In  vain  do  we  search  for  a  barbarous  people  in  those 
remote  ages.  Barbarism  was  of  a  later  date.  Adam, 
who  conversed  with  God,  his  Creator,  as  a  child  with 
his  flither,  must  have  learned  from  his  infinite  Teacher 
the  great  truths  of  religion,  and  cannot  be  supposed  to 
have  forgotten  them  in  his  fall,  but  must  have  taught 
them  to  his  multiplying  descendants  till  the  close  of 
his  long  term.  Between  him  and  the  calling  of  Abra- 
ham, we  see  that  there  were  needed  only  three  —  Me- 
thuselah, Noah,  and  Shem — to  hand  down  the  pri- 
meval doctrines. 

Religion,  therefore,  was  no  discovery  of  reason,  no 
gradual  development.     True  religion  was  the  original 
faith  of  men  in  the  divine  testimony.    This  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  account  given  by  the  apostle  Paul  in  the 
first  chapter  of  the  Romans,  where  he  tells  us :  "  The 
wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from  heaven  against  all  ungod- 
liness and  unrighteousness  of  men,  who  hold  the  truth 
in  unrighteousness ;  because  that  which  may  be  known 
of  God  is  manifest  in  them  ;  for  God  hath  shown  it  unto 
them ;  for  the  invisible  things  of  him  from  the  creation 
of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the 
things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  God-  . 
head  :  so  that  they  are  without  excuse :  because  that 
when  they  knew  God,  they  worshipped  him  not  as  God, 
neither  were  thankful,  but  became  vain  in  their  imagina- 
tions, and  their  foolish  heart  was  darkened.    Professing 
themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools,  and  changed 


> 


« 


« 


H 


il 


! 


452 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


[Lect.  XLV. 


the  glory  of  the  uncorruptible  God  into  an  image  made 
like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to  birds,  and  four-footed 
beasts,  and  creeping  things.    Wherefore  God  also  gave 
them  up  to  uncleanness,  through  the  lusts  of  their  own 
hearts,  to  dishonor  their  own  bodies   between  them- 
selves :  who  changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie,  and 
worshipped  and  served  the  creature  more  than  the  Cre- 
ator, who  is  blessed  forever.   Amen."    Here  the  apostle, 
of  his  inspired  wisdom,  declares  that  the  nations  had 
originally  a  knowledge  of  the  true  God  ;  but  unwilling 
to  detain  a  sense  of  his   holy  spiritual   majesty,  yet 
unable  to  banish  all  thought  of  divinity,  they  turned 
their  worship  to  senseless  images  of  man  and  brutes, 
ftnd  even  reptiles ;  and,  therefore,  God  suffered  them 
to  lose  his  true   idea,  and  in  consequence  the   most 
deplorable  immoralities  took  the  place  of  that  virtue 
which  the  worship  of  a  spiritual  God  enforces.    Idol- 
atry was  not  the  attempt  of  a  barbarous  mind  to  seek 
divinity,  but  the  departure  of  civilized,  instructed  mind 
from  God,  and  barbarism  itself  the  fall  of  mankind 
from  original  civihzation. 

The  theory  of  the  Bible  is  corroborated  by  the  facts 

of  history. 

We  mark,  however,  more  particulariy  that  it  was 
the  spirituality  of  the  divine  nature  which  offended  the 
corrupted  heart  of  man.  A  spiritual  Creator,  infinitely 
above  the  passions  and  appetites  of  corporeal  life,  and 
the  pure  ruler  over  the  creatures  he  had  made,  held 
them  in  fear  and  restraint  from  the  sensuaUties  they 
.desired  to  enjoy ;  and,  therefore,  they  exerted  their 
wicked  ingenuity  to  darken  their  hearts  against  spirit- 
Hal  holy  light.  They  could  not  do  without  religion 
altogether ;   the  evidences  of  divine  power  were  too 


^'tjl 


Lect.  XLV.] 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


453 


strong,  their  dependence  on  power  higher  than  their 
own,  too  manifest ;  the  habit,  grown  almost  instinctive, 
to  pray  and  worship  when  calamities  threatened  or 
successes  were  doubtful,  could  not  be  repressed ;  and  so 
they  set  up  before  their  eyes  symbolical  images  which 
they  worshipped,  not  as  they  would  have  said  had  they 
been  questioned,  because  they  considered  those  sense- 
less shapes  to  possess  divine  attributes,  but  because  they 
suggested  the  ideas  of  God  to  their  mind.  It  was  the 
same  error  as  that  into  which  the  Papist  has  fallen,  who 
will  tell  you  that  he  does  not  worship  the  crucifix  he 
holds  before  him,  but  the  Saviour  whom  the  image 
brings  eloquently  to  his  remembrance.  We  have  a 
striking  illustration  of  this  in  the  Israelites  at  the  foot 
of  Sinai ;  who,  impatient  of  delay  when  the  glorious 
sign  of  the  divine  presence,  which  had  led  them  out  of 
Egypt,  rested  long  on  the  top  of  the  mount,  demanded 
of  Aaron  that  he  should  make  them  gods  which  should 
go  before  them  ;  and  Aaron  copied  the  Egyptian  sym- 
bol of  productive  force,  the  agricultural  ox,  or,  as  our 
translators  render  it,  a  calf.  That  neither  they  nor 
Aaron  considered  the  golden  calf  to  be  a  conscious 
god,  but  only  a  symbol  of  divine  power,  is  seen  in  the 
fact  that  Moses  proclaimed  a  feast  unto  the  Lord  (Je- 
hovah), the  name  of  Israel's  covenant  God. 

The  purpose  of  idolatry  being  'to  get  rid  of  a  spirit- 
ual divinity,  from  which  moral  attributes,  condemning 
their  sensual  vices,  were  inseparable,  but  to  retain  the 
physical  power  of  divinity  for  their  selfish  purposes, 
they  set  up  images  symbolical  of  the  forces  visible  in 
nature.  In  other  respects  than  superhuman  power, 
they  made  their  gods  animal  and  subject  to  animal 
passions  like  themselves,  —  nay,  like  the  brutes.     The 


i'! 


454 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


[Lect.  XLV. 


least  acquaintance  with  heathen  mythology  proves  the 
truth  of  Aristotle's  saying,  that  "  such  as  men  wish  the 
gods  to  b.e,  so  they  make  them."  For  the  same  reason 
not  only  did  the  imputed  sensualities  of  the  gods  en- 
courage similar  impurities  among  their  worshippers, 
but  sensuality  of  the  grossest  character  became  pre- 
scribed parts  of  idolatrous  worship ;  and  not  a  few  of 
their  most  observed  festivals  and  ceremonies  were  most 
abominable  imitations  and  representations  of  acts  on 
the  part  rf  their  gods  of  which,  as  the  apostle  Paul 
says  in  particular  reference  to  them,  it  is  a  shame  even 
to  speak.  The  first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans is  a  history  true  to  the  letter  of  the  Gentile  idol- 
atry. 

They  retained,  as  we  have  said,  the  idea  of  divine 
force  —  the  motive  power,  if  I  may  so  speak  —  in  their 
gods  ;  and  this  is  the  key  to  the  philosophy  of  idolatry ; 
tiiough  in  more  ignorant  nations,  or  where  the  corrup- 
tion became  most  brutal,  the  traces  of  it  are  less  dis- 
tinct. Thus  the  first  object  of  idolatrous  worship  was 
fire,  or  the  great  central  fire,  the  sun.  They  were  led 
first  to  this,  no  doubt,  by  the  fact  that  God  himself  had 
made  supernatural  fire  or  flame  or  brightness,  "  glory," 
as  it  is  termed  by  the  sacred  writers,  the  symbol  of  his 
presence.  But  they  soon  went  farther;  and  as  they 
saw  the  sun,  by  his  active  heat,  calling  forth  the  fertility 
of  the  earth,  they  learned  to  worship  productive  force 
in  that  glorious  sign  and  medium  of  divine  power. 
The  earth,  for  the  reason  that  she  bears  the  fruit  of 
tlie  sun's  genial  influences,  received  the  name  of 
mother;  and  out  of  this  marriage  grew  the  widely 
extended  worship  of  productive  energy  under  mascu- 
line and  feminine  symbols,  known  as  the  Bacchic  or 


Lect.  XLV.] 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


455 


Phallic  system,  the  main  elements  of  which  exist  to 
this  day  in  the  idolatries  of  India,  and  spread  them- 
selves from  Egypt  over  the  ancient  historical  world. 
Of  this  most  popular,  because  most  sensual  of  all  idola- 
tries, it  is  not  becoming  for  us  to  say  more  ;  but  could 
we  detail  its  nature  and  its  mystic  ceremonies  as  they 
were  practised  by  the  classical  nations,  as  well  as  many 
less  cultivated,  down  to  as  late  a  period  as  the  sixth 
century  after  Christ,  all  would  bear  out  the  statement 
we  have  made. 

In  process  of  time  this  productive  energy  came  to  be 
divided  among  many  new  inferior  gods  who  were,  to 
the  minds  of  the  common  people  at  least,  the  control- 
lers of  various  departments  in  nature  and  art  and  intel- 
lectual exercise.  The  sea,  the  winds,  the  farm,  poetry, 
wisdom,  peace,  war,  all  had  their  tutelary  or  peculiar 
deities,  while  each  mountain,  stream,  and  tree  had  its 
guardian  nymphs. 

The  primeval  faith  had  left  traces  on  the  traditionary 
conscience  of  mankind  too  deep  to  be  eradicated,  and 
accordingly  we  find  a  general  acknowledgment  that 
vice  provoked  the  anger,  and  virtue  had  the  approba- 
tion of  the  powers  that  rule  human  destinies.  There 
are  passages  in  the  philosophical  writings  and  the  tragic 
poems  containing  sentiments  and  truths  which  approach 
in  purity  and  sublimity  the  inspired  Scriptures  ;  but 
the  philosopher  painfully  felt  the  lack  of  evidence  on 
which  to  base  a  confident  trust,  and  the  strain  of  the 
highest  poetry  places  retributive  justice  above  the 
gods  themselves,  and  even  ruling  them  as  by  eternal 
fates.  Every  scholar  is  familiar  with  the  mysterious 
destiny  which,  through  all  the  tragic  and  heroic  poems, 
is  made  to  pursue  with  calamitous  vengeance,  yet  as  a 


(i 


1 


11 


II 


456 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


[Lect.  XLV. 


Iliad  necessity,  the  perpetrators  of  greater  crimes  and 
Aeir  descendants.  This  does  not,  however,  deny  the 
fact  that  the  aim  of  idolatry  in  transferring  \voi*ship 
from  a  spiritual  supreme  to  sensible,  material  objects, 
was  to  deprive  divinity  of  moral  attributes.  They 
dreaded  divine  justice,  and  when  conscious  of  guilt, 
sought  to  avert  its  wrath  by  sacrifices  and  purifications, 
Imt  they  never  adored  it  as  a  venerable  claim  on  their 
homage  and  trust.  The  prayer  of  the  people  never 
was  for  purity  of  heart  and  strength  of  virtue ;  in  a 
word,  there  was  no  love  of  holiness  in  all  their  worship, 
no  practical  recognition  of  it  in  all  their  religion  ;  and 
this,  we  repeat,  was  the  reason  why  the  morals  of  hea- 
thenism were  so  abominably  depraved,  their  very  gods, 
because  of  their  own  vices,  becoming  so  low  and  con- 
temptible as  to  be  made  the  butt  of  satirists  and  farce- 
writers.  Even  while  they  persecuted  to  death  teachers 
who,  like  Socrates,  endeavored  to  restore  the  moral 
authority  of  heaven  over  the  popular  theogony,  and 
while  the  altars  of  magnificent  temples  were  deluged 
with  the  blood  of  hecatombs,  amidst  the  smoke  of  the 
costliest  perfumes,  the  audience  in  the  theatre  roared 
in  laughter  at  the  scurrilous  jokes  of  Aristophanes  or 
Plautus,  who  were  never  so  witty  or  recklessly  bold  as 
when  ridiculing  the  inhabitants  of  Olympus,  from  the 
father  of  gods  and  men  down  to  sooty  Vulcan. 

The  object  of  this  discourse  will  have  been  gained, 
if  its  artrument,  for  obvious  reasons  more  brief  than 
another  occasion  might  allow,  has  served  to  show  the 
immense  practical  importance  of  our  Lord's  divine  doc- 
trfne :  "  God  is  a  spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him 
must  worship  Inm  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  There  is  in 
our  natures,  even  when  renewed,  but  as  yet  imperfectly 


Lect.  XLV.] 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


457 


sanctified,  a  constant  struggle  between  the  spirit  and 
the  flesh,  which  prompts  men  to  substitute  external, 
visible  forms  for  a  spiritual  religion.     The  tendency  to 
such  a  corruption  of  worship  is  not  peculiar  to  heathen- 
ism, so  called,  but  has  exerted  its  baneful  sway  under 
the  name  of  Christianity,  as  the  rites  of  the  Papists,  and 
those  who  imitate  them,  too  plainly  show  ;  nor  is  it  alto- 
gether absent  from  the  straitest  sects  of  Protestantism. 
It  is  the  vice  of  our  fallen  nature  against  which  we 
have  all  constantly  to  struggle,  and  shows  itself  in 
every  attempt  to  have  the  form  of  godhness  while  we 
deny  the  power  thereof.     Religion,  to  be  true,  must  be 
a  spiritual  worship  of  the  infinite  Spirit.     His  authority 
searching   our   inmost   thoughts,   his   love   ruling   our 
moral  affections,  alone  can  control  the  practice  of  our 
lives.     Hence  a  godly  life  is  throughout  the  Scripture 
a  spiritual  life,  and  is  begun,  continued,  consummated 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelling  in  and  bearing  witness 
with    our    spirits,   thereby   enabling    us   by   a   divine 
strength  to  resist  and  overcome   the    degrading   ten- 
dencies  of  our  carnal  natures.     Hence  faith,  the  main 
instrument  of  the  Holy  Ghost  for  our  sanctification,  is 
a  belief  of  God's  moral  truth,  discerning  things  invisi- 
ble and  eternal.    Such  belief  alone  can  make  us  closely 
acquainted  with  God,  purge  our  souls  from  the  gross- 
ness  of  sensualism,  and  overcome  the  world  by  the 
infinitely   transcendent   attractions   of    eternal   fellow- 
ship with  God.     Hence  the  first  commandment  of  the 
law  demands  of  us  faith  in  the  absolute  supremacy  of* 
the  one  only  God  ;  the  second  insists  on  an  equal  rec- 
ognition of  his  spiritual  essence,  and  forbids  all  prac- 
tices springing  from  a  desire  to  rid  ourselves  of  the 


i 


^ii 


i 


a 


I 


458 


ON  IDOLATRY. 


[Lect.  XLV. 


moral  restraints  which  his  spiritual  nature  imposes 
upon  all  who  fear  and  adore  him.  It  is  only  in  this 
broad  light  that  we  can  see  the  full  meaning  of  the 
second  commandment  and  its  true  object  in  forbidding 
all  idolatry. 

w 


LECTURE   XLVI. 


ON  PKOFANE  SWEARING. 


*i 


i  t 


,*• ;  ii 


ift: 


THIRTY-SIXTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

ON    PROFANE    SWEARING. 

"  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain ;  for  the  Lord 
will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that  taketh  his  name  in  vain."  —  Exodus  xx.  7. 

TT  were  very  painful  to  think  that,  among  this  vast 
^  crowd  of  intelHgent  and  educated  young  men,*  there 
could  be  found  one  who  denied  or  even  doubted  the 
being  of  God.  So  deeply  is  the  great  Idea  impressed 
upon  human  reason,  so  clearly  is  it  announced  to  us  by 
revelation,  so  fully  is  it  demonstrated  by  the  admirable 
economy  of  nature,  so  necessary  is  it  to  philosophical 
argument  as  the  source  of  all  law,  so  essential  to  social 
morals  as  the  universal,  supreme,  only  sufficient  motive 
of  virtue,  that  we  regard  an  atheist  as  a  monster,  our 
pity  for  whose  wretchedness  is  wellnigh  swallowed  up 
in  disgust  at  his  deformity.  Yet,  my  friends,  when  we 
acknowledge,  as  we  do,  the  existence  of  God,  we  con- 
fess that  he  is  our  God,  our  Creator;  therefore,  our 
Owner,  our  Ruler  ;  therefore,  our  Judge.  Let  us  sus- 
pend our  officious  denunciation  of  the  atheist,  and  ask, 
What  are  we,  if,  believing  in  God,  we  live  as  though 
there  were  no  God  ?  if,  while  he  speaks  in  his  word, 
we  deafen  our  ears  to  his  voice,  forget  him  amidst  the 
countless  miracles  of  his  works,  and,  stiffing  his  witness 
in  our  consciences,  do  as  we  list,  careless  of  our  duty 
and  allegiance,  disregardful  alike  of  his  smile  or  his 
frown,  his  eternal  rewards  or  everlasting  damnation. 

*  This  lecture  was  one  of  a  course  of  sermons,  preached  by  the  clergy- 
men of  New  York  and  other  cities,  before  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation of  New  York. 


Ill 


u\ 


'I  .'  .1 


462 


ON  PROFANE  SWEARING.  [Lect.  XL VI. 


hI 


But  criminal  as  such  neglect  of  God  is,  there  is  a 
__  yet  more  aggravated,  an  offence  against  his  majesty 
far  more  heinous,  more  than  contempt,  a  defiance  of 
his  almighty  wrath,  so  common  that  the  atmosphere 
df  our  land  is  loaded  with  its  enormity ;  nor  can  we 
easily  believe  that  there  are  none  even  in  this  most 
respectable  audience  stained  by  its  guilt.  It  is  a  pro- 
fane use  of  the  divine  names  and  sentences  in  ordi- 
nary conversation.  No  apology  need  be  made  for 
bringing  a  subject  of  such  importance  to  your  atten- 
tion, since  God  himself  has  given  it  a  place  among  the 
four  great  commandments  which  immediately  respect 
his   own   honor.      That   commandment   shall   be  our 

text :  — 

"  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy 
God  in  vain  ;  for  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless 
that  taketh  his  name  in  vain."  —  Exodus  xx.  7. 

We  have  here  two  things  for  our  solemn  consid- 
eration :  — 

First  :    What  is  meant  hy  taking  the  name  of  the 

Jjyrd  our   God  in  vain. 

Secondly  :  The  extreme  wickedness  of  such  profan- 
ity.   "  The  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that  taketh 

his  name  in  vain.^^ 

First:   What  is  meant  hy  ''taking  the  name  of  the 

Lord  our  God  in  vain^^  ? 

By  the  name  of  the  Lord  God,  according  to  the 
idiom  of  Scripture,  is  intended  not  merely  the  appella- 
tion of  the  Divine  Being,  but  also  his  supreme  author- 
ity and  power.  Thus :  "  The  name  of  the  Lord  is  a 
stronty  tower,  the  righteous  runneth  into  it  and  is  safe." 
The  Saviour  did  his  works  in  his  "  Father's  name  "  ; 


Lect.  XLVI.]  on  profane  SWEARING. 


463 


and  by  his  direction  we  pray,  "Hallowed  be  thy 
name."  The  simple  mention  of  the  Deity  should  re- 
mind us  of  his  claim  upon  our  worship  and  obedience ; 
yet  the  text  goes  farther,  and  enjoins  a  reverence  not 
only  for  the  supreme  himself,  but  for  all  that  bears 
the  impress  of  his  majesty :  "  Thou  shalt  not  treat 
lightly  the  authority  of  the  Lord  thy  God."  The 
prohibition  is,  therefore,  very  extensive,  forbidding  not 
only  perjury,  which  is  an  appealing  to  the  Great 
Searcher  of  hearts  while  uttering  a  lie,  but  also  all 
irreverence  whatsoever  toward  his  names,  titles,  attrib- 
utive epithets,  sentences,  words,  and  institutions. 

As,  however,  it  would  be  impossible  at  present  to 
treat  of  the  whole  subject,  our  consideration  will  be  of 
profaneness  in  common  conversation. 

By  such  profaneness  is  meant, 

1.  Light  and  impious  protestations  by  any  of  the 
Divine  names  on  trivial  occasions.  These  are  correctly 
termed  oaths  in  every  sense  of  that  momentous  word. 
The  profane  swearer  may  not  reflect  upon  what  he  is 
saying;  but,  in  fact,  he  is  taking  God  to  witness  of 
what  he  utters.  It  is  not  the  place  or  the  occasion 
which  makes  an  oath,  but  the  assertion  by  the  name  of 
God.  How  awful  the  blasphemy  of  invoking  the  Most 
High  on  slight  pretences,  or  of  using  his  venerable  titles 
without  a  solemn  sense  of  their  tremendous  meaning ! 

2.  The  thoughtless  mention  of  the  divine  name  in 
idle  or  hasty  exclamations,  such  as,  "  My  God  !  "  "  O 
Lord  !  "  "  God  bless  me  !  "  and  the  like.  If  there 
be  any  meaning  in  the  use  of  such  phrases,  it  is  an  in- 
vocation of  the  divine  presence  and  favor,  which  cannot 
be  our  feeling  unless  we  have  some  proper  idea  of  his 
infinite  character;  and  if  we  utter  them  without  anv 


I 


I 


w 


I'  • 


1 


464 


ON  PROFANE  SWEARING. 


[Lect.  XLVI. 


consideration  of  their  import,  we  grossly  insult  him 
whii  k  ¥ery  jealous  of  his  name. 

3.  An  irreverent  use  of  those  words  which  are  em- 
ployed by  God  to  denote  his  wrathful  sentences,  as 
damn,  damnation,  curse,  hell.  These  and  like  words 
are  so  appropriated  to  the  divine  dispensations  of  his 
justice  against  transgressors  of  his  law,  that  they  are 
always,  with  a  few  inconsiderable  exceptions,  so  under- 
stood. What  a  contempt  does  it  argue  of  his  avenging 
anger,  when  we  invoke  it  petulantly  or  flippantly  on 
oar  own  heads ;  or  cruelly  and  maliciously  desire  to 
make  God  the  minister  of  our  excited  passions  by 
invoking  it  on  the  heads  of  othei-s  ! 

4.  A  wanton  use  of  scriptural  texts  or  expressions 
by  way  of  witticism  or  facetiousness.  The  language 
of  Scripture  is  peculiar,  and,  at  the  same  time,  familiar 
to  us,  so  that  w©  readily  lecognize  an  imitation  of  it ; 
and  all  the  point  of  the  miserable  jest  lies  in  the  resem- 
blance to  the  words  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  the  closer 
the  resemblance,  the  droller  it  is  thought  to  be.  This 
form  of  profaneness  has  too  much  prevalence,  even 
among  those  who  profess  better  and  should  know 
better ;  nor  can  it  be  sufficiently  condemned,  for  how 
shocking  should  be  a  travesty  of  those  sacred  words  in 
which  we  are  accustomed  to  hear  God  speaking  of 
mercy  and  judgment,  or  a  parody  of  his  most  gracious 
teachings !  No  one  can  thus  sport  with  holy  words 
who  has  a  respect  for  the  authority  of  Scripture ;  nor 
are  we  able  entirelv  to  divest  a  text,  which  we  have 
heard  so  abused,  of  the  unworthy  association.  It  may 
be  said  that  no  profanity  is  intended;  but  how  can 
it  be  otherwise  than  profane  to  use  the  language  of 
eternity  in  speaking  of  trifles,  or  to  raise  an  idle  laugh 


Lect.  XLVI.]  ON  PROFANE  SWEARING. 


465 


at  the  expense  of  respect  for  the  word  of  God  ?  The 
Mohammedan,  who  will  not  tread  upon  written  or 
printed  letters  lest  he  might  trample  on  a  saying  of  his 
prophet,  may  teach  professed  Christians  a  lesson ;  and, 
surely,  he,  who  commanded  Moses  to  put  off  his  shoes 
from  his  feet  as  he  stood  before  the  burning  bush,  be- 
cause tlie  very  ground  was  holy  from  the  presence  of 
the  Lord,  will  avenge  such  an  insulting  approach  to 
that  holy  word  by  which  he  reveals  himself  as  a  iealous 
God. 

Having  thus  briefly  defined  profanity  in  common 
conversation,  let  us  now  consider. 

Secondly:  Its  extreme  wickedness.  "The  Lord 
will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that  taketh  his  name  in 


vam. 


1.  It  is  an  evidence  of  a  heart  deplorably  insensible 
to  the  character  of  the  Most  High.      It  is  the  name 
of  the  Lord  our  God  which  is  so  profaned.      It  is  a 
inile  of  human  as  well  as  divine  wisdom,  to  give  honor 
where  honor  is  due.     Respect  to  our  superiors  in  law- 
ful authority  has  ever  been  held  necessary  for  the  order 
of  society.     Filial  reverence  is  the  first  lesson  of  filial 
duty.     Our  judges  on  tlie  bench  and  our  legislators  in 
their  halls  are  protected  by  privileges  and  addressed  by 
titles,  to  which,  as  private  persons,  they  have  no  claim. 
This  deference  is  extended  to  all  who  are  distinsuished 
by  age  or  wisdom  or  worth.     A  hoary  head  is  a  crown 
of  honor  in  the  eyes  of  all  but  the  utterly  abandoned. 
To  treat  with  disrespect  the  counsels  of  the  wise  is  to 
argue  ourselves  fools,  and  to  speak  lightly  of  the  good 
is  to  prove  ourselves  depraved.    How  much  more  is  tlie 
King  eternal,  immortal,  invisible,  the  only  wise  God, 
our  Saviour,  entitled  to  our  reverential  and  awful  re- 


I! 


VOL.  II. 


30 


466 


ON  PROFANE  SWEARING. 


[Lect.XLVI. 


SMCt  I     He  is  our  Creator,  who  formed  us  out  of  dust, 
animated  us  with  intelligent  and  immortal  spirits,  up- 
holds  and   preserves   us  by  his   constant  hand  ;   our 
Ruler,  whose  authority  is  over  all,  and  from  whose 
dominion  there  is  no  escape;   our  Judge,  by  whose 
Itws  and  sentences  our  eternal  state  is  to  be  fixed,  and 
from  whose  decision  there  is  no  appeal ;  the  infinitely 
glorious  Being,  to  the  majesty  of  whose  holy  perfec- 
tions there  is  no  bound,  —  at  the  thought  of  whom  the 
very  devils  tremble, — before  whose  brightness  seraphim 
and  cherubim  veil  their  faces  as  they  adore  ;  whose 
throne  Is  ever  surrounded  by  innumerable  hosts  of 
prostrate  worshippers,  and   to  whom   universal  crea- 
tion, except  the  blasphemer,  is  ever  sending  up  hymns 
of  praise,  —  yet  it  is  his  name  that  man,  the  worm  of 
the  dust,  the  creature  of  his  hand,  dependent  upon  him 
even  for  the  air  he  breathes,  profanes  in  the  burst  of 
anger,  in  peevish  impatience,  in  wanton  thoughtless- 
ness, in  the  ribald  jest.     O  what  must  be  the  depravity 
of  his  heart  who  can  stand  upon  earth,  from  which 
God  took  him,  and  beneath  the  heavens  which  are  tell- 
ing God's  glory,  and  in  the  midst  of  God's  bountiful, 
beautiful  works,  yet  use  that  tongue,  which  God  taught 
speech,  to  blaspheme  the  holy,  the  just,  and  the  good 
Author  and  Sovereign  of  all ! 

2.  It  IS  a  direct  insult  to  God.  In  other  sins  we 
rebel  against  the  divine  government;  but  in  profane- 
ness  we  defy  God  to  his  face,  we  rush  before  his  terri- 
Me  presence,  we  stand  fronting  his  burning  eye,  and 
fling  our  challenge  at  the  foot  of  his  throne ;  w^e  mock 
at  his  curse,  we  scorn  his  threatenings,  we  dare  his 
fierce  damnation,  and  deride  his  fiery  vengeance.  O 
when  we  hear  him  thus  insulted,  assailed,  and  defied. 


Lect.  XLVI.] 


ON  PROFANE  SWEARING. 


467 


we  wonder  that  his  liglitning  sleeps,  that  his  red  right 
hand,  which  flung  the  revolting  angels  down  to  hell, 
crushes  not  in  sudden  destruction  the  puny  rebel,— 
that  the  shuddering  earth  does  not  swallow  him  up  as 
it  did  the  company  of  Korah,  —  that  the  caverns  of  the 
lost  open  not  to  receive  so  congenial  a  spirit  among  the 
blaspheming  fiends  ;  for  who  is  more  worthy  of  the 
tortures  which  the  damned  suffer  than  he  who  pollutes 
the  name  of  God  with  his  foul  lips  ? 

3.  It  is  a  sin  against  knowledge.  In  most  other  sins 
men  may,  at  times,  have  doubts  of'  their  criminality. 
The  profane  swearer,  if  he  knows  the  meanino-  of  his 
words,  cannot  attempt  such  excuse.  No  one  contends 
for  the  propriety  of  profaneness.  No  one  defends  it  as 
necessary  or  pleasant.  No  one,  who  believes  in  God, 
can  doubt  its  guilt.  There  is  no  need  of  study  to  de- 
tect, or  of  reasoning  to  prove  its  shamefulness.  The 
command  is  too  plain  to  be  misunderstood:  "Thou 
shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain ;  " 
and  conscience,  however  hardened,  acknowledges  that 
"the  Lord  "  should  " not  hold  him  guiltless  that  taketh 
his  name  in  vain." 

In  other  sins  we  may  forget  that  God  Is  nigh  ;  but 
the  profane  swearer,  by  the  very  terms  of  his  oath,  con- 
fesses that  he  is  in  God's  presence,  acknowledges  his 
power  and  the  reality  of  his  fearful  curses  on  the 
guilty;  yet,  in  this  spirit,  he  blasphemes.  He  sins 
wilfully,  therefore  foully ;  intelligently,  therefore  inex- 
cusably ;  impudently,  therefore  desperately ;  and  when 
the  wrath  of  God  kindles  unquenchable  fires  around  his 
lost  spirit,  in  the  agonies  of  his  despair  and  remorse, 
his  wailing  cry  will  be,  "  I  have  got  that  for  which  I 
prayed.      I  taunted  God  to  do  his  worst.      I  called 


H 


468 


ON  PROFANE  SWFARING. 


[Lect.  XLVI. 


i 


for  damnation  and  hell,  and  tliey  are  here.     With  my 
own  hand  I  have  pludked  ruin  down  on  my  head  and 

murdered  my  soul !  " 

4.  It  is  a  sin  without  temptation.     Every  other  sin 
has  some  lure,  some  promised  pleasure,  some  momen- 
tary gratification,  some  hoped-for  worldly  profit.     The 
sensualist  indulges  luxuriously  strong-impelling  appe- 
tites ;  avarice,  fraud,  and  robbery  aim  at  that  wealth 
which  purchases  the  things  of  this  life  ;   revenge  has 
a  malicious   satisfaction   in   paying  back  wrong  with 
wrong  ;  falsehood  seeks  some  end  in  deceiving,  and  the 
sophistry  of  the  sceptic  is  an  affected  display  of  subtile 
acuteness,  or  of  daring  contrariety  to  estabhshed  opin- 
ion.    But  profanity,  especially  common  swearing  and 
cursing,  has  no  temptation  to  it  except  it  be  unmixed 
wickedness ;  it  is  a  luxury  to  no  sense,  it  brings  a  man 
no  gain,  it  acquires  for  him  no  credit,  nor  is  there  any- 
thing in  our  natural  constitution  impelling  us  to  it.     A 
profane  swearer  displays  no  talent,  but  rather  proves 
Hs  lack  of  power  to  express  himself  in  decent  words. 
A  half-witted  fool,  a  drunken  vagabond,  a  brazen  har- 
lot, a  vagrant   child,  can  swear  as  well  as  he.      He 
talks  the  most  arrant  nonsense  ;  he  uses  the  most  ab- 
surd phrases  ;  he  fills  his  mouth  with  words  that  mean 
only  vileness.     Profanity  is  the  forlorn  expedient  of  an 
empty  head  and  a  depraved  heart,  the  last  resort  of 
blundering  silliness,  the  incoherence  of  frenzied  rage. 
Does  a  jest  want  point  ?     It  is  sharpened  by  an  oath. 
Is  a  story  insipid  ?     A  curse  is  the  ever-ready  season- 
ing.    Is  an  argument  defective,  or  an  opponent's  con- 
tradiction strong  ?     Blasphemy  is  an  easy  logic.     Is  an 
epithet  wanting?     The  swearer  needs  no  rhetoric  to 
supply  it ;  he  has  one  ready  for  all  occasions,  —  for  hot 


Lect.  XLVI.]  ON  PROFANE  SWEARING. 


469 


or  cold,  black  or  white,  right  or  wrong,  fair  or  ugly. 
Certainly,  there  is  no  intellectual  temptation  to  this 
hateful,  degrading  habit.  The  swearer  must  acknowl- 
edge, that,  were  his  words  summed  up,  no  one  talks 
more  aggregate  absurdity ;  and  that,  however  wise  in 
other  respects,  for  the  time  he  is  a  parrot-like  babbler, 
or  a  vociferous  dunce.  What  should  we  think  of  a 
judge  swearing  on  the  bench,  an  advocate  in  his  plea, 
a  senator  in  his  place  ?  How  should  we  regard  an 
oath  in  a  written  treatise,  or  a  formal  speech?  Is 
there  any  wit,  reasoning,  fancy,  or  beauty  in  it  ?  Can 
it  answer  any  purpose  of  instruction  or  delight  ?  What 
motive  can  there  be  for  profanity  ?  It  has  nothing  in 
it  but  a  gross,  stupid,  devil-like  contempt  of  all  that 
good  men  love  or  deprecate.  I  have  never  heard  any 
one  defend  it  upon  any  principle ;  and  the  only  excuse 
ever  offered  is,  that  it  has  become  an  unthinking  habit  ; 
though  some  have  owned  themselves  so  lost  to  proper 
feeling  that  (to  use  their  own  expression)  it  did  them 
good  to  swear  when  excited  or  irritated.  "An  un- 
thinking habit !  "  The  rapid  growth  and  strength  of 
such  a  habit  is  another  proof  of  the  enormous  sin. 
"No  one,"  says  the  Roman  satirist,  "ever  became 
very  wicked  at  once."  So  no  one  was  ever  naturally 
or  without  intentional  practice  a  profane  swearer. 
When  he  first  attempted  his  awkward  oath,  he  started 
and  trembled  lest  the  lightning  of  God  would  consume 
him  on  the  spot,  —  his  lips  grew  pale  as  he  faltered  out 
the  fearfiil  phrase  ;  but  soon,  emboldened  by  the  divine 
forbearance,  callous  from  custom,  and  shameless  through 
practised  effronteiy,  he  tosses  from  his  leprous  tongue 
oath  after  oath  still  more  and  more  daring,  until  he 
scarcely  knows  when  he  swears,  and  his  conversation 


f 


^  I 


1 


ON  PROFANE  SWEARING.  [Lbct.  XLVI- 

teems  with  insulting  defiances  of  his  Maker.     "  Un- 
thinking hahit !  "      "  Unthinking  !  "      Is  it  not   the 
privilege  and  dignity  of  a  man  to  think  ?     Wretched 
prearer,  is  there  naught  that  can  serve  to  supply  your 
dearth  of  words  hut  ^e  titles  of  your  good  and  mighty 
God*?     Nauo-ht  to  swell  your  impoverished  speech  hut 
the  judgrnen'ts  that  will  ere  long,  except  you  repent, 
crush  your  soul  in  eternal  anguish  ?    "  Habit !       Does 
habit  excuse  a  thief,  a  liar,  a  debauchee  ?     Has  habit 
so  corrupted  your  hear!  and  your  lips,  rendered  you  so 
familiar  with  the  dialect  itf  the  blackguard,  the  drunk- 
ard, and  the  damned,  that  you  cannot  choose  but  blas- 
pheme like  a  lost  spirit  before  your  time  ?     O  surely, 
of  all  fools  that  mock  at  sin  and  at  God  who  avenges 
himself  on  the  sinner,  the  profane  swearer  is  the  silliest, 
cheapest,  maddest,  nearest  to  hell  I    So  far  from  getting 
the  world  in  exchange  for  his  soul,  the  swearer  asks  for 
Ms  gratuitous  condemnation.      Well  has  old  Herbert 

said :  — 

"  Lust  and  wine  plead  pleasure;  avarice,  gain; 
But  the  cheap  swearer,  through  his  open  sluice, 
Lets  his  soul  run  for  nought." 

&  It  is  a  very  corrupting  sin.    There  is,  perhaps,  no 
vice  that  corrupts  the  heart  more  than  profanity.    Fear 
of  God,  or  a  belief  in  his  retributive  justice,  tends  more 
than  anything  else  to  presence  men  in  a  course  of  vir- 
tue.    "  The  denunciations  of  divine  vengeance,"  says 
tlie  eloquent  Roscoe,  as  quoted  by  the  great  penal  jurist 
of  Louisiana,  "  when  duly  impressed  on  the  mind,  pos- 
sess  a  sanction  at  which  mere  human  authority  can 
never  arrive,  and  bring  with  it  that  certainty  which 
alone  and  in  all  circumstances  can  prevent  the  perpe- 
crime."  .    This  opinion  is  corroborated  by 


Lect.  XLVL] 


ON  PROFANE  SWEARING. 


471 


universal  experience.  Those  who  bow  with  the  most 
sincere  reverence  before  God,  are  uniformly  most 
strictly  true  in  their  dealings  with  men.  But  how  is 
this  restraint  lost  by  the  profane  swearer  !  That  very 
name,  which  should  excite  his  awe,  is  prostituted  to  a 
base  familiarity.  He  cannot  fear  God  who  does  not 
hesitate  to  sport  with  His  most  solemn  titles,  nor  can 
he  have  any  just  apprehension  of  a  future  punishment 
who  makes  it  a  jest  and  a  by-word.  The  floodgate  of 
all  iniquity  is  thus  raised.  I  firmly  believe  that  a  pro- 
fane man  is  not  to  be  trusted,  and  that  no  reliance  can 
rightly  be  placed  on  his  integrity,  except  so  far  as  a 
regard  for  human  laws  and  social  opinion  may  restrain 
him.  He  can  have  no  abiding  sense  of  virtue.  There 
is  many  a  bad  man  who  does  not  swear,  there  are 
many  hypocrites  in  religion ;  but  the  profane  swearer 
avows  himself  to  be  wicked,  and  we  know  that  he  is 
without  the  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes ;  and,  without 
the  fear  of  God,  he  can  have  no  conscience. 

This  effect  must  be  peculiarly  great  upon  formal 
oaths  in  courts  of  justice,  or  in  the  assumption  of  office. 
"  Rash  swearing,"  says  an  old  writer,  "  leads  to  false 
swearing."  It  is  impossible  that  one  who  trifles  with 
the  name  of  God  upon  all  occasions  should  feel  the 
solemnity  of  an  appeal  to  him  when  the  legal  oath  is 
tendered.  Penal  statutes  against  perjury  may  restrain 
him,  but  the  sanctity  of  the  oath  will  not.  The  best 
decisions  set  aside  as  unworthy  of  belief  the  testimony 
of  those  who  do  not  understand  the  nature  of  an  oath, 
or  who  deny  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments. 
But  how  much  more  credit  does  a  profane  swearer  de- 
serve ?  He  may  understand  what  an  oath  is,  but  does 
he  reverence  it?     He  may  believe  in  God  and  the 


n 


■ 


I 


472  ON  PROFANE  SWEARING.  [!'="•  XL VI. 

iudcrment,  but  his  conversatJon  proves  that  he  woi^hips 
km  not  for  his  anger  is  with  him  a  matter  of  ordmary 
Mel    IB  the  otth  of  such  a  man  any  better  or  as 

<rood  as  liis  word  ? 

"  6.  This  is  farther  seen  in  the  fact  that  profaneness  i 
the  ordinary  accompaniment  of  great  depravity.     Hell 
k  full  of  curses ;  and  they  who  are  fittmg  themselves  by 
other  crimes  for  the  companionship  of  devils,  prepare 
themselves  by  practice  to  join  in  the  profanity  of  the.r 
destined  prison-house.      The  g«™Wer  swears  over  Ins 
cards  and  sweating-cloth.      The  brothel   echoes  w.th 
obscenity  and  profanity  in  turn  or  commingled.     The 
bar-room  rings  with  maudlin  or  frenzied  blasphemy. 
It  is  the  last^ncoherent  mutter  of  the  bloated,  house- 
less drunkard,  as  he  rolls  into  the  kennel.     The  cells  of 
a  prison  are  filled  with  the  curses  of  felons.     It  is  rare 
to  find  a  notorious  villain,  from  the  sneakmg  pickpocket 
to  the  murderer  on  the  highway,  that  is  not  notoriously 
profane.    If  he  be  not,  it  is  because  he  is  such  an  adept 
in  crime  that  he  artfully  lays  aside  what  his  cunning 
tells  him  is  a  sign  of  guilt.     So  no  man  is  ejer  profane 
without  losing,  in  some  degree,  the  respect  of  others, 
even  of  the  profane  themselves.      Although  we  may 
have  before  admired  his  demeanor,  giving  hini  credit 
for  dignity  and  propriety,  the  moment  an  oath  drops 
from  his  lips,  he  sinks  in  our  regard,  -  he  loses  the  air 
of  a  Christian,  the  high  polish  of  a  gentleman,  the 
calm  truthfulness  of  a  wise  man.      This  sentiment  is 
.reneral.     If  any  of  my  hearers  doubt  it,  let  him  ask 
himself  whether   there  is  any  profane  person  ot   his 
acquaintance  whom  he  t.-uly  esteems  as  a  thoroughly 
good  man,  or  whom  he  would  not  respect  more  if  he 
were  not  profane  ?     If  he  looks  not  on  a  profane  child 


Lect.  XL VI.] 


ON  PROFANE  SWEARING. 


4T8 


8S  precocidnsTy  depraved,  or  shudders  not  as  an  old  man, 
tottering  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  perseveres  in  curs- 
ing and  swearing  ? 

7.  It  corrupts  others  besides  the  profane  person  him- 
self. President  Dwiglit  well  remarks  that  profanity  is 
a  social  vice.  "  A  man  seldom  swears  when  alone." 
The  swearer  corrupts  his  companions,  familiarizes  them 
with  that  which  at  first  shocked  and  disgusted  them. 
He  swears  in  his  family,  his  children  imitate  his  baleful 
example,  —  the  little  one,  whom  perhaps  the  mother 
would  teach  to  pray,  has  the  paternal  sanction  for  its 
lisping  oath,  and  grows  up  nurtured  in  sin,  consigned 
by  a  parent's  murderous  tongue  to  depravity  and  ruin. 
These  in  their  turn  spread  the  contagion,  until  distant 
generations  and  far-off  lands  feel  the  corrupting  leaven, 
and  stain  with  the  blood  of  countless  souls  the  skirts 
of  the  blasphemer.  The  profane  swearer  is  thus  a 
moral  blight,  a  walking  pestilence,  a  reckless  madman, 
scattering,  even  among  those  he  loves  best,  arrows,  fire- 
brands, and  eternal  death.  O  swearer,  if  you  will  in- 
voke the  curse  of  the  Almighty,  step  aside  from  the 
crowd,  that  it  may  consume  you  alone  !       , 

Lastly.  It  is  a  sin  against  which  God  has  declared 
his  especial  vengeance.  You  may  count  it  a  trifling 
fault ;  but  is  that  trifling  which  is  followed  by  such 
mischief?  God  is  the  Judge  by  whom  our  sins  are  to 
be  weighed ;  and  throughout  the  Scriptures  he  declares 
himself  to  be  a  jealous  God,  especiall}'^  jealous  for  the 
honor  of  his  name.  As  the  moral  Governor  of  the 
universe,  he  is  particularly  incensed  against  a  sin  so 
corrupting,  so  calculated  to  shake  all  sense  of  his  au- 
thority, and  evincing  such  ungrateful  impiety  in  return 
for  his  goodness  and  patience  and  readiness  to  forgive. 


474 


ON  PROFANE  SWEARING.  [Lect.  XLVI. 


l| 


You  may  think  his  punishment  of  a  few  idle  words  will 
not  be  severe.     But  he  sets  the  enormity  of  the  sin 
and  the  penalty  of  the  sinner  beyond  all  doubt  when 
be  utters  the  commandment :   "  Thou  shalt  not  take 
the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain ;  for  the  Lord 
will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that  taketh  his  name  in 
vain."     God  will  keep  his  word.      Awful,  therefore, 
must  be  the  punishment  of  the  profane  swearer  in  the 
eternal  world,  except  he  repent.     Hell  is  certainly  his 
portion.     It  is  the  ruin  he  has  invoked,  ridiculed,  and 
defied.     He  is  fitted  by  his  character  and  habits  for  no 
other.     Heaven  is  a  place  of  holy,  reverent,  and  ador- 
ing praise ;   hell,  the  abode  of  rebellion,  despair,  and 
blasphemy.     Even  there,  his  punishment  will  be  fear- 
fully greats     *'I  will  pour  out  my  fury,"   saith  the 
Lord,  "  upon  them  that  despise  my  statutes."     How 
terrible  the  thought !     The  mercy  of  the  Lord  turned 
to  fury  I     The  fury  d  the  Lord!  — and,  then,  the 
bitter  reflection,  more  tormenting  than  the  fire  that  is 
not  quenched,  more  envenomed  than  the  worm  that 
never  dies,  that  it  is  the   swearer's  own  wickedness 
turned  in  fierce  retribution  upon  him ! 

Let  me  entreat  jm,  my  friend,  to  avoid  profaneness. 
It  is  easily  avoided,  yet,  easily  acquired ;   and  when 
acquired,  with  difficulty  laid   aside.      It  is  a  virulent 
vice,  spreading  like  a  leprosy  through  the  whole  moral 
constitution  of  a  man  ;  for  you  cannot  learn  to  swear 
Hiljiout  ceasing  to  pray,  without  despising  the  check  of 
conscience,  without  becoming  worse  in  every  respect ; 
since  profaneness  concentrates,  in  a  few  brief  phrases, 
unholy  rancor,  determined  rebellion,  and  reckless  aban- 
donment of  your  soul.     It  will  bring  you  neither  gain, 
credit,  mx  honor.     It  introduces  you  to  the  vilest  com- 


n 


Lect.  XLVI.]  ON  PROFANE  SWEARING. 


475 


panionship,  and  expels  you  from  the  society  of  the 
good  as  a  self-branded  Cain,  the  horror  of  all  who  fear 
God  and  practise  virtue.  It  excludes  you  from  the 
redemption  of  Christ,  drives  away  the  merciful  Holy 
Ghost,  and  is  the  fore-doom  of  eternal  perdition.  Oh, 
swear  not !  For  your  mother's  sake,  swear  not ;  for 
your  friend's  sake,  swear  not ;  for  society's  sake,  swear 
not ;  for  your  own  soul's  sake,  swear  not ;  for  the  sake 
of  God  who  made  you,  for  the  sake  of  Christ  w^ho  died 
for  you,  swear  not.  It  is  easy  to  forbear,  but  oh,  how 
desperately  wicked  to  commit  such  a  sin  ! 

Have  you  been,  are  you  now,  in  the  habit  of  pro- 
faneness ?  Oh,  lay  it  aside.  You  would  be  a  gentle- 
man, yet  even  the  loose  Chesterfield  says  a  gentleman 
never  swears  ;  consider  how  you  wound  and  shock  the 
ears  and  hearts  of  all  religious  people,  though  they  but 
catch  the  offensive  sound  as  they  pass  you  in  the  street. 
I  ask,  as  a  favor  w^hich  courtesy  can  readily  grant,  that 
they  may  not  hear  you  speak  lightly  of  their  best 
Friend,  their  beloved  Father,  their  venerated  Sovereign. 
But  I  plead  more  for  your  own  sake  and  the  sake  of 
those  whom  your  example  may  influence.  How  good 
and  how  patient  has  God  thus  far  been  to  you  in  not 
cutting  you  off  at  your  word  !  If  he  had  done  so, 
where  were  you  now  ?  He  may  do  it  yet.  Have  you 
not  insulted  his  forbearance  long  enough  ?  What  has 
He  done  to  provoke  such  insult,  so  gratuitous,  so  impu- 
dent ?  Oh,  my  friend,  it  is  mean,  it  is  dishonorable  thus 
to  treat  your  Benefactor  because  he  is  so  long-suffer- 
ing !  Are  you  bent  upon  destroying  your  soul  for  the 
sake  of  uttering  a  vile  word  ? 

Do  not  say  that  you  cannot  break  the  habit.  Your 
occasional  restraint  belies  vour  assertion.     You  would 


i 


\ 


!  '' 


476  ON  PROFANE  SWEAKING.  [L^ct.  XLVI. 

not  swear  before  a  lady,  or  a  clergyman.  A  slight 
respect  for  another  human  being's  feehngs  checks  the 
oath  upon  your  lips.  Have  you  less  respect  for  God  ? 
You  would  not  swear  if  you  knew  that  God  would 
strike  you  dead;  why  defy  him  who  maintams  you  m 
life  f  Resolve  now  that  not  one  more  oath  shall  pass 
your  lips,  and  you  will  leave  this  sacred  place  a  truer 
.entleman,  a  better  man,  and,  I  trust,  to  become  a 
happy  Christian. 


LECTURE    XLVIL 


THE  PUEPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


m 


'J 


h  ' 


\>h 


II 


THIRTY-EIGHTH  LORD'S   DAY. 

THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 

"  And  on  the  seventh  day  God  ended  his  work  which  he  had  made:  and 
he  rested  on  the  seventh  day  from  all  his  work  which  he  had  made.  And 
bod  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and  sanctified  it,  because  that  in  it  he  had 
rested  from  all  his  work  which  God  had  created  and  made."  -  Genesis  ii. 

"Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy;  six  davs  shalt  thou  labor, 
and  do  all  thy  work;  but  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbkth  of  the  Lord  thy 
God:  in  It  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thv  son,  nor  thy  daugh- 
ter, thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid-servant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor  thy  stranger 
that  18  within  thy  gates;  for  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth 
the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day;  wherefore  the 
Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it."  —  Exodus  xx.  8-11. 

"  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath:  There- 
fore the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  also  of  the  Sabbath."  —  Mark  ii.  27,  28. 

"  There  remaJneth  therefore  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God.  For  lie  that  is 
entered  into  his  rest,  he  also  hath  ceased  from  his  own  works,  as  God  did 
from  his.    Let  us  labor,  therefore,  to  enter  into  that  rest."  —  Hebrews  iv. 

TT  was  a  principal,  and  the  most  fatal,  error  of  the 
Jews,  at  the  time  of  our  Lord,  that  they  expected 
the  Messiah  as  a  temporal  prince,  whose  victorious 
prowess  would  establish  them  in  the  secure  enjoyment 
of  more  than  their  former  worldly  advantages.  Even 
the  chosen  disciples  could  not  be  persuaded  that  their 
Master's  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world,  until  the  re- 
jected and  crucified  of  men  had  been  received  up  into  * 
glory  out  of  their  sight.  The  error  lay  deeper  than  in  a 
mistaken  rendering  of  prophecy  :  it  is  radical  in  fallen, 
human  nature,  which,  because  the  flesh  has  the  mastery 
over  the  spirit,  clings  to  earth  instead  of  aspiring  to 


11 


480  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.    [Lect.  XLVH. 

heaven.     For  this  reason,  all  the  teachings  of  our  Lord 
and  his  apostles  are  after  the  pattern  of  that  great  evan- 
gelical command  with  its  promise:  "Seek  ye  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all     .ese 
thhTgs  (those  necessary  for  this  present  !•&)  J»  J« 
added  unto  you."     The  eternal  kmgdom  of  God,  w.th 
that  righteousness  by  which  alone  we  can  attam  .t,  is 
to  be  the  first,  the  paramount,  the  constant  object  of 
our  pursuit,  while  we  trust  contentedly  in  God ^°^' 
us  all  of  this  world  that  he  deems  good  for  us  as  relig- 
ious pilgrims,  whose  home  and  hearts  are  above,  where 
Christ,'our  example  and  forerunner  sits  at  the  nght 
hand  of  the  Father.     But  to  use  religion  and  its  in- 
strumental economy  first  for  the  enhancement  of  our 
worldly  profit,  is  to  make  Christ  the  servant  of  our  sen- 
Tual  idolatries  after  the  fashion  of  those  who,  "  desU- 
tute  of  the  truth,  suppose  that  gain  is  godliness.       It 
is  true,  and  we  bless  God  for  it,  that  «  godlmess  is  pro^ 
itable  unto  all  things,  having  promise  of  the  life  that 
now  is  and  of  that  which  is  to  come  ; "  but  it  has  p^om- 
ise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  not  as  worldly  men  regard 
that  life,  and  only  as  those  estimate  ^y^J-  ~-^ 
in  heaven.     It  is  a  lying  promise  of  the  Jev.l,      the 
prince  of  this  world,"  which  says:  "AH  these  things 
Si  I  give  thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship 
L  «    The  declaration  of  him  "  who  came  from  God 

ani."  having  "brought  life  and  i— ^'.'%X^;t 
thrmigh  the  gospel,"  "went  to  God,     is:    '  In  this 
world  ye  shallhave  tribulation  ;  but  be  of  good  cheer, 
I  have  overcome  the  world." 

The  error  of  the  Jews  is  rife  among  us.  The  Ohris- 
tian  doctrine  of  Providence  has  taken  a  strong  hold  on 
men's  outer  convictions,  while  their  hearts  are  insensi- 


Lect.  XLVIL]    THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


481 


ble  to  "  the  power  of  an  endless  life  " ;  and  there  is 
more  than  ever  manifest  a  desire  to  serve  God  wliom 
they  dread,  and  Mammon  wliom  they  love,  at  the  same 
time  and  by  the  same  acts.     Even  Christians,  eager 
to  gain  for  religion  the  favor  of  the  world,  too  often 
employ  the  jesuistry  of  holding  forth,  as  a  bribe,  its 
worldly  benefits.     The  true  process  of  Christianity  is 
to  cut  the  root  of  human  evils  by  converting  the  sin- 
ful heart  through  the  faith  of  Christ ;  yet  we  waste 
great  zeal  in  fertile  attempts  to  lop  off  the  branching 
vices.     The  genuine  blessings  of  Christianity  are  fruits 
of  the  Spirit ;  and  vain  are  all  efforts  to  graft  them 
upon   the  carnal  will  which  is  planted  in  the   earth. 
Mere  moral  reforms,  or  schemes  to  create  an  outward 
shape,   a   counterfeit    semblance   of  Christian   virtue, 
draw  away  no  small  share  of  our  strength  from  the 
spread  of  that  gospel  which  is  "  the  wisdom  of  God 
and  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation," — salvation  here, 
because  it  is  salvation  hereafter,  —  salvation  from  the 
power  as  well  as  from  the  punishment  of  sin.      The 
regenerating  doctrine  of  the  cross,  against  which  men 
stumble,  is  not  seldom  thrust  into  a  corner  of  the  pul- 
pit by  professed  preachers  of  our  religion,  while  its 
temperance,  its  social  purity,  its  political  value,  or  its 
liberating  tendencies  are  heralded,  as  though  heaven 
was  to  be  in  this  world,  and  eternity  of  less  considera- 
tion than  time,  or  our  duty  to  God  rendered  only  when 
our  wages  are  in  our  hand.     The  holy  Sabbath,  God's 
own  day,  the  blessing  of  our  spiritual  nature,  the  ear-  * 
nest  of  our  immortality,  the  type  of  eternal  satisfaction, 
has  not  escaped  this  ill-ordered  logic.    Christian  tongues 
grow  proudly  eloquent  upon  its  temporal  excellence, 
summoning  all  philosophy  to  prove  the  physical  benefits 


4i 


'M 


VOL.  II. 


31 


\i 


482  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.     [Lect.  XLVIl. 

of  the  mere  rest  from  toil,  without,  and  apart  from  its 
sacredness,  as  recommendations  of  its  observance  to  the 
servant  of  the  world.     These  arguments,  very  valua- 
m  when  supplementary  and   subordinate,  have  been 
set  In  such  undue  prominence  as  to  check  our  wonder, 
when  men,  perverting  the  Scripture  that  "the  Sab^ 
bath  was  made  for  man  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath, 
claim  its  sacred  hours  as  their  own,  m  which  they 
mm  comfort  themselves  after  the  week  s  labor  ^itb. 
,  iy  of  idle  pleasure,  to  the  -g^ct  of  h.  ^r^ 
who  set  it  apart  for  that  holy  end.     Let  us,  at  this 
time,  elevate  ourselves  to  a  higher  range  of  thought, 
and  urge  the  authority  of  the  Sabbath  from  those  prin- 
ciples  upon  which  it  is  founded  in  the  word  of  God 
The  main  drift  of  our  discourse  will,  therefore,  be  to 
consider  The  Purpose  of  the  Sabbath  ;  for,  that 
being  ascertained,  it  is  easy  to  infer  how  the  Sabbath 

should  be  kept.  •  •     i    «^„ 

The  simple  fact  that  God  has  solemnly  enjoined  upon 
US  a  devout  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  were  enough  to 
demonstrate  that  it  is  our  duty  and  our  interest,  even 
if  we  were  unable  to  discover  any  of  the  reasons  for 
which  the  Sabbath  was  ordained.     God,  our  Creator 
and  Sovereign,  has  a  supreme  right  to  direct  and  con- 
trol us  in  the  use  of  our  time  ;  as  our  kind  and  wise 
Father,  who  loves  his  human  children  and  perfectly 
understands  our  nature,  would  give  us  no  directions  but 
such  as  must  certainly  tend  to  the  best  welfare  of  all 
who  obey  him.     The  Sabbath,  therefore,  cannot  be 
otherwise  than  a  most  just  and  beneficial  arrangement: 
just,  as  regards  our  obligations  to  God,  -  beneficial,  as 
regards  our  own  happiness. 

But  the  circumstances  in  which  God  was  pleased  to 


lkct.  XLvir.]    the  purpose  of  the  sabbath. 


483 


set  apart  the  Sahhath,  and  his  subsequent  revelations  con- 
cerning it,  greatly  enhanced  its  claims. 

I.  In  the  fourth  commandment  given  on  Sinai,  God 
speaks  of  the  Sabbath  as  already  known,  and  its  ob- 
servance as    already  most  solemnly  enjoined,  —  "JSe- 
member  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy ;  "  —  and  he 
carries  us  back  to  its  institution  on  the  seventh  day 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world.      Referring  to  the 
.  sacred  narrative,  we  learn  that  on  the  sixth  day,  after 
God  had  completed  the  inferior  creation,  he  made  man  ; 
"  in  the  image  of  God  created  he  him ;  male  and  female 
created  he  them;"  and,  having  commanded  them  to 
be  "  fruitful  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth,  and 
subdue  it,"  he  gave  them  dominion  over  all  his  terres- 
trial works.     "  And  God  saw  everything  that  he  had 
made,  and  behold  it  was  very  good."  .  .  .  .  "  And  on 
the  seventh  day  God  ended  his  work  which  he  had 
made ;  and  he  rested  on  the  seventh  day  from  all  his 
work  which  he  had  made.     And  God  blessed  the  sev- 
enth day  and  sanctified  it;  because  that  in  it  he  had 
rested    from    all    his   work   which   God   created   and 
made." 

Here  we  note  several  most  important  facts  :  — 

1.  The  Sabbath  is  coeval  with  creation,  antecedent 
to  Christianity,  to  Judaism,  and  even  to  sin,  which 
required  the  salvation  promised  at  the  gate  of  Eden. 
There  were,  therefore,  reasons  for  the  Sabbath  in  the 
fundamental  relations  between  God  and  man,  and  in 
the  original,  not  merely  the  acquired,  necessities  of 
human  nature. 

2.  The  Sabbath  is  holi/.  To  hallow,  to  make  holy, 
and  to  sanctify,  are,  as  we  all  know,  synonymous  scrip- 
tural expressions,  signifying  to  set  apart  for  God.     God 


484  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.    [LEcr.  XLVIL 

himself  hallowed  the  Sabbath  to  himself.     He  made  it, 
dammed  it,  sealed  it,  as  his  own.     The  primal  reason 
XL  sanctified  it,  was  because  "  He  rested  on  the 
Teventh  day  from  all  his  works."    Hence  the  command, 
ment  declares  that  "  the  seventh  day  .sthe  Sahhathof 
the  Lord  thy  Godr  and,  throughout  the  Scnptures  God 
calls  the  Sa'bbath  his  S.bbath.     The  ent.re  etermty  of 
G^  i«  holy,  and  with  him,  stnctjy  ^Pf  ^^^^^^^^^ 
no  succession  of  time ;  therefore  he  did  not  set  apart 
the  Sabbath  for  his  own  use.     The  life  of  the  bless  d 
angels  is  a  perpetual  Sabbath;  ^^^^fl\'^^^'^^^^^ 
1;  had  no  reference  to  them.     God  hal  owed  it,  be- 
came mi  that  day  he  rested  from  the  creation  of  wh^^h 
he  made  man  the  delegated  head  ;  therefore  its  sancti- 
fication  was  enjoined  upon  man.     All  the  time  of  man 
belongs  to  God,  and  at  all  times  man  is  to  render  God 
servicl     But  there  are  duties  which  man  is  to  render 
God  mediately, -that  is,  through  the  creatures  of  God 
with  whom  he  is  put  in  relation  by  his  Creator,  as  the 
social  and  personal  virtues  called  for  by  his  moral  cir- 
nmstances  ;  and  there  are  duties  which  he  is  to  ren^^^^^^ 
God  immediately,   as  adoration,  praise,  and  worship^ 
Sq  at  the  very  beginning  of  man's  life  and  after  God 
fcad  assigned  him  his  mediate  duties,  the  Creator  hal- 
Wd  efery  seventh  day  of  man's  time  -  especnaHy 
peculiarly,  immediately,  and  only  the  Lord  s.     In  the 
Kays  he  was  to  do  all  his  work;  but  the  seventh  he 
v^  to  set  apart  for  the  worship  of  his  Maker  and  Sov- 
ereign, in  which  he  should  commemorate  the  creation 
grateftilly,  acknowledging  the  author  of  his  being,  the 
giver  of  all  good,  as  his  owner,  his  naaster    and  his 
iudce.     "  Hallow  my  Sabbaths,  and  they  shall  be  a 
^i^/Tbetween  me  and  you,  that  ye  may  know  that  I  am 


Lect.  XLVIL]    THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


485 


the  Lord  your  God."     The  Sabbath,  therefore,  though 
made  for  man,  is  not  man's,  but  the  Lord's. 

3.  The  Sabbath  was  blessed.  The  Sabbath,  being 
mere  time,  is  incapable  of  receiving  blessing,  and  its 
blessedness  must  mean  its  being  an  occasion  on  which, 
and  an  institution  through  which,  special  blessings  are 
conferred.  Thus  the  Scriptures  speak  of  "  k  field  which 
the  Lord  hath  blessed,"  signifying  that  the  Lord  had 
made  it  abundantly  fruitful.  The  Sabbath  is  the  Lord's, 
but  it  is  made  for  man,  tliat  in  keeping  it  aright  he  may, 
according  to  the  benevolent  purpose  and  wise  economy 
of  God,  enjoy  in  the  Sabbath,  on  the  Sabbath,  and  from 
the  Sabbath,  peculiarly  rich  and  abounding  blessings. 
God  ever  dispenses  his  blessings  to  us  through  our  use 
of  appointed  means,  and  the  Sabbath  was  a  special 
means  in  his  use  of  which  man,  even  before  his  sin, 
was  blessed  of  God.  The  holy  character  of  the  Sab- 
bath, its  purpose,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is  to  be 
kept,  distinctly  show  the  nature  of  its  blessings.  The 
seventh-day  rest  from  labor  is,  indeed,  itself  a  blessing, 
fruitful  of  countless  temporal  blessings  ;  but  these  are 
rather  contingent  and  incidental.  Abstinence  from 
labor  is  enjoined  in  order  to  the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath 
separate  for  its  peculiar  purpose,  the  worship  of  God ; 
and  that  being  the  special  purpose  of  the  Sabbath,  its 
peculiar  blessings  spring  from  the  worship  of  God  within 
its  sacred  hours.  The  six  days  are  appointed  for  man's 
labor  in  the  world,  connected,  it  is  true,  as  all  the  affairs 
of  this  life  are,  with  his  higher,  religious  well-being ; 
the  Sabbath  is  set  apart  for  the  culture  of  his  higher, 
religious  interests,  connected,  as  they  manifestly  are, 
with  his  best  temporal  welfare.  A  blessing  of  God  is 
upon  the  labors  of  his  true  servants  throughout  the  six 


486  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.    [Lect.  XLVII. 

days ;  but  the  Sabbath  sheds  from  God  its  appropriate 
blessings  on  man's  worship  of  God.     There  are  spirit- 
ual blessings  connected  with  man's  (so-called)  secular 
work,  because  that  work  is  duty  to  God ;    but  those 
blessings  are  rather  incidental,  not  peculiar.     There 
are  secular  blessings  connected  with  man's  holy  use  of 
the  Sabbath,  for  it  is  closely  related  to  his  secular  time  ; 
but  they  are  rather  incidental,  not  peculiar.    The  bless- 
ing on  the  week  may  overflow  into  the  Sabbath  ;  the 
blessing  on  the  Sabbath  may  overflow  into  the  week : 
but  the  week  and  the  Sabbath  has  each  its  blessing 
proper  to  itself.     Man  is  dependent  upon  God  for  the 
supply  of  his  wants  as  a  dweller  in  this  world ;  he  is 
dependent  upon  God  for  the  supply  of  his  wants  as  a 
ipiritual,  religious,  and  immortal  being.     So  far,  then, 
as  his  spiritual  are  distinguishable  from  his  physical  in- 
terests, his  religious  from  his  secular,  his  immortal  from 
his  temporal,  the  blessings  of  the  Sabbath  are  distin- 
guishable from  those  of  the  week.     Tlie  one  regards 
him  as  separated  from  the  affairs  of  this  life,  and  in 
close  communion  with  God ;  the  other  as  still  in  com- 
munion with  God,  but  busy  amidst  the  afiairs  of  this 
life.     Therefore  we  infer  that  the  Sabbath  was  made 
for  man  as  a  spiritual,  religious,  and  immortal  creature ; 
so  the  Sabbath  has  no  promise  of  blessing  except  when 

so  used. 

Such  is  the  pressure  of  temporal  cares,  temptations, 
and  distractions,  that,  were  man  left  to  its  unrelieved, 
uninterrupted  force,  he  would  inevitably  become  forget- 
ful of  his  higher  welfare,  and  "  quite  lose  the  divine 
quality  of  his  first  being,"  forgetful  of  God  in  occupation 
with  God's  creatures,  forgetful  of  his  soul  in  attention 
to  his  body,  forgetful  of  eternity  in  his  anxiety  for  time. 


r 


Lect.  XLVII.]      THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


487 


So  God,  while  he  insists  upon  our  constant  religion, 
has  set  apart  the  Sabbath  for  the  direct  worship  of  him- 
self, that  during  its  hallowed  rest  man  might  meditate 
upon  his  Creator  and  the  great  purposes  of  his  creation. 
The  Sabbath  is  thus  an  endowment  of  the  soul,  an 
ordinance  of  religion,  an  earnest  of  immortality.  There 
can  be,  after  the  gospel,  no  blessing  so  high  as  that  of 
the  Sabbath,  no  privilege  so  great  as  that  which  it 
affords,  no  dignity  so  noble  as  that  to  which  it  intro- 
duces us.  It  is,  therefore,  a  most  illogical  mistake,  as 
well  as  a  grave  sacrilege,  to  make  the  Sabbath  a  mere 
temporal  convenience,  or  to  expect  a  genuine  blessing 
from  it  when  not  used  for  spiritual  profit. 

This  consideration  is  heightened  bv  the  fact,  that 
4.  The  Sabbath  was  introduced  hy  the  example  of 
God, 

God  needed  no  rest,  yet  he  rested  on  the  seventh 
day.  It  was  for  man  that  he  thus  consecrated  the  Sab- 
bath by  his  divine  conduct  as  well  as  command.  God 
rested  like  man,  that  man  might  rest  like  God.  Man 
was  made  in  the  image  of  God ;  therefore,  as  he  was  a 
"partaker  of  the  divine  nature,"  was  he  made  to  par- 
take of  the  divine  blessedness,  and  God  shared  with 
him  his  rest.  Man  was  constituted  the  representative 
vicegerent  of  God  over  the  mundane  creation ;  there- 
fore the  Sabbath  was  set  apart,  that  he  might  enter 
into  close  fellowship  and  council  with  God,  the  supreme 
Lord.  Man  was  God's  own  dear  child ;  therefore  God 
on  the  Sabbath  calls  him  up  to  rest  on  his  Father's 
bosom,  to  enjoy  a  festival  in  his  Father's  house,  and  to 
receive  an  earnest,  as  the  heir,  of  his  Father's  kingdom. 
Nowhere,  except  in  God's  taking  upon  him  human 
nature,  is  there  such  an  assurance  that  man  may  be- 


I 


i 


488  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.     [Lkct.  XLVH. 

come  like  his  God  as  the  Sabbath      The  rest  is,  there- 
fore   spiritual ;  for  "  the  everlasting  God,  the  Lokd, 
r  Creator  of  the  ends  of  the  earth  fainteth  not  nei- 
ther is  weary  " ;  his  rest  was  not  because  of  fatigue 
tl  his  wo7k  ;  neither  is  rest  from  labor  the  pecubar 
rest  of  the  Sabbath.     As  man  has  a  double  nature,  - 
a  material  frame  as  well  as  a  spiritual  soul, -rest  may 
have  been  needful  for  his  body  even  before  his  sm,  and 
certainly  is  necessary  now  that  death  I'^^.P^^^^'^  uP"" 
him ;  but  such  rest  is  not  the  rest  into  which  he  ente.s 
with  God :  it  is,  at  the  best,  only  supplementary  and  aux- 
iliary to  the  rest  of  his  spirit.     So  it  fo  lows  that  only 
l»y  a  godly  use  of  the  Sabbath,  in  imitation  of  God  and 
fellowship  widi  him,  do  we  secure  its  end  and  attain 
its  blessings.     It  i»  then,  and  then  only,  a  reimpression 
of  God's  likeness,  a  reconferring  of  God's  authority,  a 
reconarmation  of  his  sonship  to  the  Father,  a  rein- 
dorsement  of  his  title  to  immortal  life. 

5   The  Sabbath  was  laid  at  the  foundation  of  human 
mor'ah.     God  ordained  it  in  the  very  beginning  of 
nian's  relations  and  responsibilities.     He  did  not  allow 
«an  to  exist  a  whole  day,  or  to  enter  ^rly  «pon  his 
various  offices,  before  he  had  kept  a  Sabbath  with  his 
God ;  so  important  to  man  did  the  Creator  and  Law- 
giver consider  that  sacred  day,  as  a  preparation  for  his 
discharge  of  his  relative  duties.     The  reasons  for  this 

are  obvious.  , 

The  duties  of  man  to  liimself,  to  his  fellows,  and  to 
the  inferior  creatures  result  from  and  are  included  by 
his  duty  to  God.  The  law  of  God  is  the  sole  rule  that 
determines,  orders,  and  appoints  the  manner  m  which 
his  virtues  are  to  be  exercised.  He  owes  no  duty  to 
the  creatures  of  God,  nor  any  allegiance  to  human  law 


Lect.  XL VII.]      THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


II 


489 


or  authority,  except  as  such  duty  has  been  enjoined 
upon  him  by  God,  and  such  allegiance  has  been  di- 
rected  by  the  divine  precepts.     An  observation  of  the 
Sabbath,  therefore,  is  appointed  as  an  acknowledgment 
that  all  his  time  belongs  to  God,  and  that  God  alone 
has  a  right  to  direct  him  in  the  use  of  his  time.     It  is 
like  the  offering  of  the  first-fruits,  in  token  that  the 
whole  harvest  belongs  to  God,  though  the  divine  pro- 
prietor graciously  permits  the  faithful  husbandman  to 
reap  its  blessings  for  himself.     The  fear  and  love  and 
knowledge    of  God    are    necessary   to    establish    and 
maintain  in  man's  heart  a  right  sense  of  his  responsi- 
bility for  all  his  conduct,  and  to  cultivate  a  kindliness 
of  spirit  and  love  of  virtue  by  a  contemplation  of  his 
divine  pattern.     He  cannot  regard  his  fellow-men  as 
his  brothers,  except  as  he  regards  God  as  his  and  their 
Father ;  nor  can  he  be  sensible  of  the  duties  which  he 
owes  to  the  inferior  creatures,  except  as  he  considers 
them  belonging  to  God,  his  Creator  and  theirs.     He 
cannot  exercise  his  delegated  authority  aright,  except 
in  humble  conformity  to  the  example  of  the  great  Su- 
preme.    Therefore  God  has  appointed  the  Sabbath  for 
man,  in  which  he  is  commanded  to  worship  the  Creator 
and  Sovereign,  to  muse  on  the  power  and  wisdom  and 
goodness  which  have  given  him  and  all  things  being, 
to  acquaint  himself  with  the  divine  will,  and  to  study, 
with  adoring  docility,  the  character  of  God  in  the  struct- 
ure of  his  works,  the  economy  of  his  providence,  and 
the  revelations  of  his  truth.     Every  well-kept  Sabbath  ' 
is  thus  a  fresh  return  of  man  to  God  for  instruction 
and  strength  to  discharge  his  duty ;  and  also  a  repeated 
anticipation  of  his  rendering  an  account  at  the  great 
day  of  the  manner  in  which  he  has  discharged  his  duty. 


m 


M 


4 


» 


490  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.     [Lect.  XLVII. 

All  the  binding  force  that  religion  has  over  inorals  i. 
Aus  concentrated  and  made  immediately  appl-We - 
Tri^ht  use  of  the  Sabbath.     Not  to  remember  the  Sab- 
Lth   is  not  to  remember  God ;  and  to  forget  God,  ,s  to 
fo^;  he  obligations  of  virtue.    In  this  high  sense  has 
tlisabbath  b^en  made  for  man.     As  lus  Wp.nes.  . 
inseparable  from  virtue,  and  virtue  mseparab  e  from 
Son,  the  Sabbath,  on  which  both  are  specially  cult.- 
vaS  i    a  confirmation  and  security  of  man's  h.ghest 
good.     Hence  (we  may  observe  in  passmg)  experience 
L  proved  that  where  the  Sabbath  has  been  best  kept, 
sound  notions  of  morality,  and  the  practice  of  vrtue, 
personal  and  social,  have  most  prevailed,  because  ther 
L  fear  and  love  of  God  are  the  paramount  mo^ ves  of 
men's  conduct.     He  only  who  remembers  the  Sabbath- 
L  to  keep  it  holy,  will  remember  to  keep  h>m.e^ 
Tly ;  for  the  Sabbath  is  not  only  a  means  of  moral 
.itrencrth   but  also  a  test  of  moral  smcenty. 

Suctbeloved  brethren,  is  the  doctrine  of  the  hcHy 
Sabbath,  as  taught  by  God  in  the  beginning,  when  he 
sanctified  it  for  his  own  honor,  and  blessed  it  for  the 

^"When  *e"almighty,  all-wise,  and  all-bountiful  Crea- 
tor had  finished  his  divine  works,  and  had  crowned 
man,  the  chiefest  of  them  all,  the  head  of  our  humamty, 
^ith  radiations  of  his  own  glory  and  honor,  we  are  told 
his  infinite  bosom  glowed  with  especial  satisfaction  and 
delicrht.     What,  then,  must  have  been  the  adoring, 
adiniring,  grateful  transports  of  the  holy  creature  man. 
Tose  tLn  being  was  made  illustrious  with  such 
majestv  amidst  such  scenes  of  grandeur  and  loveliness ! 
Perfect  as  were  his  pure  frame  and  innocent  spint,  the 
wonders  and  occupations  crowded  into  the  first  day  of 


s 


Lkct.  XLVII.]      THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


491 


his  existence  rendered  a  day  of  rest  welcome,  if  not 
necessary.  He  needed  its  sacred  hours  to  consider  his 
novel  and  eminent  position  ;  to  confer  with  his  Parent- 
.  Sovereign;  to  offer  him  solemn  homage  and  glad  thanks; 
to  receive  the  sympathy  of  his  Original,  of  whose  infi- 
nite wisdom  and  authority  and  love  and  will  he  was 
the  finite  image.  When,  therefore,  after  the  sleep  of  a 
night  had  composed  his  powers,  overwhelmed  though 
not  worn  by  excess  of  rapture,  he  woke  to  look  again 
upon  his  fair  and  magnificent  kingdom,  his  Creator's 
creation  and  his  Father's  gift,  —  when,  through  the  ris- 
ing odorous  mists  of  fertile  Eden  he  saw  the  morning 
sun,  like  a  benediction  from  the  burning  throne,  shine 
streaming  down  on  forests  and  fields  and  waters,  and 
on  the  countless  tribes  of  air  and  land  and  sea,  all 
active,  fearless,  and  happy  in  their  fresh  life,  and  he 
lifted  up  his  heart  and  voice  to  the  invisible  Loi*d 
whom  he  loved, — the  sanctity  of  the  Godhead's  Pres- 
ence was  bowed  with  the  glory  of  heaven  to  enshrine 
the  unpolluted  earth.  Father  and  child  rested  in  "  the 
peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  understanding."  Then 
was  "  the  Sabbath  made  for  man  "  ;  then  did  he  "  en- 
ter into  the  joy  of  his  Lord  " ;  then  did  he  drink  of 
the  rivers  of  the  divine  pleasures ;  then  did  he  glow 
with  filial  satisfactions  in  the  reflecting  of  his  Father's 
glory,  and  exult  in  the  privilege  of  ruling  all  for  his 
Father's  praise. 

But  there  shall  dawn  another  Sabbath,  a  Sabbath 
made  for  man,  far  exceeding  its  beautiful  type  in  glory,* 
praise,  and  sacred  rest. 

This  leads  us  to  consider,  as  we  proposed, 
II.   jPhe  subsequent  revelations  of  the  Divine  Word 
concerning  the  Sabbath.  ^ 


I 


i 


H 


4 


492  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.     LTect.XLVH. 

If  the  Sabbath  was   necessary  for  !" -   ~^^^^ 
when  his  body  was  immortal  and  his  spirit  holy,  much 
Tore  must  it  be  so  for  man  fallen,  since  sm  has  planted 
thorns  and  briers  in  the  ground,  --f  ^.f^/;: /^^^^J 
mi  he  eats  his  bread  in  the  sweat  of  his  face  ;   and 
hTheart  has  become  prone  to  forget  Go  ,  '' dec.tf^^^^ 
^.  all  things  and  desperately  wicked ;     and  w^^^^^^^^^ 
the  grace  of  the  gospel  his  whole  life  is  required  to  pre- 
pare  for  his  eternal  future  ?     But  God,  who  is  nch  m 
Lrcy,  did  not  forget  his  --^^^L  children,  nor  t^^^^^^^ 
them  the  Sabbath  blessing.     The  promise  of  salvation 
was  given  at  the  very  gate  of  Eden  and  so  we  have 
sufficient  reason  to  believe  that  the  Sabbath  was  kept 
by  the  true  worshippers  of  God  until  the  giving  of  the 
law  by  Moses ;  for  the  fourth  commandment  bade  them 
m^emmher  the  Sabbath-day  to  keep  it  holy,    and  tor 
the  same  reason  assigned  as  at  the  beginnmg,  clearly 
assuming  that  its  sanctification  had  been  always  known 
and  enjoined.      That   the    Sabbath   was   known    and 
recognized  as  a  divine  institution,  is  put  beyond  doubt 
W  what  we  read  in  the  sixteenth  chapter  of  Exodus, 
22-29,  where,  after  the  giving  of  the  manna,  with  the 
command  to  gather  on  the  sixth  day  the  portion  neces- 
sary  for  the  seventh,  Moses  said  :  "  ,  .  •  To-morrow  is 
the  rest  of  th..  holy  Sabbath  unto  the  Lord  ;  bake  hat 
which  ye  will  bake  to-day,  and  seethe  that  ye  will  seethe ; 
and  that  which  remaineth  over,  lay  up  for  you  to  be  kept 
until  the  morning.    And  they  laid  it  up  until  the  morn- 
inc.,  as  Moses  bade ;  and  it  did  not  .tink,  neither  was 
there  any  worm  therein.    And  Moses  said.  Eat  that  to- 
day ;  for  to-day  is  a  Sabbath  unto  the  Lord  :  to-day  ye 
shall  m  fitiait  in  the  field.     Six  dap  ye  shall  gather 
it  5  but  on  the  seventh  day,  which  is  the  Sabbath,  m  it 


Lect.  XL VII.]      THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


493 


there  shall  be  none.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  there 
went  out  some  of  the  people  on  the  seventh  day  for  to 
gather,  and  they  found  none.  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Moses,  How  long  refuse  ye  to  keep  my  commandments 
and  my  laws  ?  See  for  that  the  Lord  hath  given  you 
the  Sabbath,  therefore  he  giveth  you  on  the  sixth  day 
the  bread  of  two  days  ;  abide  ye  every  man  in  his 
place :  let  no  man  go  out  of  his  place  on  the  seventh 
day."  Here  the  Sabbath  is  spoken  of  as  known  to 
be  one  of  God's  commandments  and  laws,  and  that, 
because  it  was  so,  God  required  them  to  refrain  even 
from  gathering  manna,  at  the  same  time  taking  from 
them  all  temptation  to  disobey.  It  was  commanded 
to  the  Israelites,  not  as  a  peculiar  people  merely, 
but  as  men  and  creatures  of  God,  whose  God,  not- 
withstanding their  sins,  he  declared  himself  to  be.  It 
was  no  part  of  the  ceremonial  law,  separately  given 
afterwards  to  them  as  the  circumcised  nation ;  but  is 
fixed  permanently  in  that  moral  code,  every  precept 
of  which  is  binding  upon  all  men,  because,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  Sabbath  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  sound 
morals. 

Yet  it  must  be  noted,  that,  for  another  and  special 
reason,  its  observation  is  enforced  upon  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple :  "  Remember  that  thou  wast  a  servant  in  the  land 
of  Egypt,  and  that  the  Lord  thy  God  brought  thee  out 
thence  through  a  mighty  hand  and  by  an  outstretched 
arm ;  therefore,  the  Lord  thy  God  commanded  thee  to 
keep  the  Sabbath-day"  (Deut.  v.  15).  On  the  Sab-' 
bath-day  they  were  to  remember  God  their  Creator, 
because  they  were  men,  but  also  to  remember  him  as 
their  deliverer,  because  they  were  Israelites ;  and  to 
meditate  thankfully  on  his  attributes  displayed  in  crea- 


1 


i 

M 


494  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.     [Lect.  XLVIT. 

lion,  and  on  his  attributes  combined  in  the  mercy  that 
effected  their  transfer  from  the  wretchedness  of  Egypt 
to  the  inheritance  of  the  promised  land.  So,  through- 
out the  Old  Testament  it  is  declared,  that  by  their  sanc- 
tification  of  the  Sabbath,  as  a  covenant  sign,  they  were 
HI  know  the  Lord  as  indeed  their  God ;  and  from  it,  as 
a  means,  every  blessing,  spiritual  and  temporal,  was  to 

come  upon  them. 

But,  my  brethren,  as  you  well  know,  the  covenant 
of  God  with  the  Abrahamic  nation  was  typical  of  his 
covenant  with  his  true  Israel,  their  deliverance  out  of 
Egypt ;  of  that  Israel's  redemption  from  sin  with  all  its 
consequences,  and  their  establishment  in  Canaan ;  of 
the  rest  remaining  in  eternity  to  the  people  of  God. 
Therefore  do  we,  as  Christians,  keep  holy  the  Sabbath- 
day,  that  we  may  glorify  God  our  Redeemer,  medi- 
tate upon  the  greatness  of  his  gracious  power  in  accom- 
plishing the  atonement  through  which  we  live,  and 
anticipate  in  lively  hope  our  full  salvation  in  the  rest 

above. 

Nay,  we  fetch  our  warrant  for  this  evangelical  use 

of  the  Sabbath  from  a  great  type  at  the  beginning,  for 

the  redemption  by  Christ  is  the  more  glorious  antitype 

of  creation  itself.     The  redemption  of  the  church  is 

emphatically  styled  "  a  new  creation,"  and  the  believer 

"  a  new  creature,"  "  created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good 

works,"  his  new  life  breathed  into  him  by  the  Holy 

Spirit;  and  as  man  was   made  in    "the  likeness  of 

God,"  so  the  new  man  is  renewed  in  "knowledge," 

•*  ri<Thteousness  and  true  holiness  after  the  image  of  him 

thar  created  him."     The  first  Adam  was  the  head  of 

liis  race,  and  was  owned  as  the  Son  of  God.     So  is  the 

Immanuel  constituted  the  Head  of  his  church,  the  sec- 


I 


Lect.  XLVII.]     THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


495 


ond  Adam  of  a  spiritual  seed,  all  of  whom  by  him  are 
children  of  God.  Adam  was  made  lord  over  earth, 
so  the  second  Adam  is  "head  over  all  things  to  his 
church,"  and  his  people  are  all  "  kings  unto  God,"  for 
they  are  of  the  seed-royal.  The  very  name  of  man's 
original  happy  dwelling-place  is  given  to  that  home  of 
delight  where  the  church  shall  be  complete  in  bliss 
eternal,  for  Paradise  is  the  exact  translation  of  Eden, 
the  garden  of  the  Lord ;  and  thither  has  the  second 
Adam,  our  Forerunner,  our  Elder  Brother,  for  us  en- 
tered, and  sits  crowned  with  glory  and  honor,  the  rep- 
resentative of  man  again  made  perfect.  Therefore  we 
keep  the  Christian  Sabbath,  and,  according  to  apostoli- 
cal example,  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  because  that 
was  the  first  day  after  the  new  creation  by  the  finished 
atonement  of  Jesus  Christ  on  the  cross,  —  the  day  on 
which  he  rested,  and  blessed  his  people,  after  all  his 
work,  as  the  Redeemer.  This  involves  no  change  of 
the  Sabbath's  nature :  it  is  still  a  seventh  day,  —  a  day 
holy  to  the  Lord,  —  a  day  of  rest ;  but  it  adds  to  the 
motive  of  honoring  God  the  Creator,  the  one  still 
higher  and  more  precious  to  the  Christian,  of  honoring 
God  the  Saviour,  and  to  the  commemoration  of  God's 
work  in  the  beginning,  the  anticipation  of  his  final 
glory  in  the  perfectness  of  his  church  on  high.  We 
are  justified  in  the  change,  for  God  the  Creator  hath 
given  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth  to  God  incarnate, 
as  the  Saviour,  "The  Son  of  man  is  Lord  of  the 
Sabbath-day,"  and  the  first  day  of  the  week  is  the 
Lord's  day,  in  which  we  honor  the  Son  even  as  we 
honor  the  Father.  Thus,  my  brethren,  the  voice  of 
God  our  Creator  speaks  to  us  from  the  beginning  of 
human  existence,  commanding  us  to  hallow  the  Sab- 


fif 


496 


THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.    [Lect.  XLVII. 


bath  for  bis  glory  and  our  own  good ;  and  God  the 
Saviour,  standing  heside  his  broken  tomb,  repeats  the 
injunction,  with  all  the  arguments  of  his  devoted  love. 
He,  who  on  the  first  Sabbath  blessed  man  by  admitting 
him  to  communion  with  himself,  on  the  day  after  the 
second  creation  came  into  the  midst  of  his  chosen,  say- 
Peace  be  unto  vou,"  and  "  breathed  upon  them 


ing,  „ 

the  Holy  Ghost."      All^  the  mighty  wonders  of  the 
past,   all  the  greater  wonders  of  the   eternal  future, 
crowd  around  the  sacred  day.     It  is  beautiful  with  the 
light  that  shone  on  happy  Eden,  illustrious  with  the 
glory  of  rejoicing  heaven.     As  its  fresh  morning  breaks 
upon  our  souls,  we  seem  to  hear  the  morning  stars  sing- 
ing together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouting  for  joy ; 
then,  mingling  with  their  chorus,  ''  like  the  voice  of 
many  waters,"  the  hallelujahs  of  the  church  of  the 
first-bom  around  "  the  throne  of  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain."     The  primal  Sabbath  bowed  heaven  down  to 
earth  ;  the  Christian  Sabbath  lifts  earth  up  to  heaven. 
The  first  Sabbath  crowned  the  blessings  of  creation ; 
tbe  second  Sabbath  crowns  the  blessings  of  redemption. 
The  original  Sabbath  reminded  man  of  his  creation ; 
ours  assures  him  that  he  is  immortal.     The  one  called 
innocent  man  from  his  pleasant  work  to  the  higher 
delight  of  communion  with  God  his  Maker ;  the  other 
oifers  us,  in  our  sinful  weakness,  a  refuge  from  the  toils 
of  a  tempting  world,  that  we  may,  while  yet  on  earth, 
anticipate  eternal  rest  above  in  communion  with  God 
©ur  Saviour.     How  foully,  then,  do  we  profane  the 
divine  ordinance,  how  completely  pervert  it  from  its 
holy  purpose,  when  we  abuse  the  privilege  of  its  re- 
lease from  secular  cares  into  a  license  for  ungodly  idle- 
ness! 


Lect.  XLVH.]    THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


497 


There  is  another  idea  belonging  to  the  Sabbath, 
taught  in  the  last  of  the  texts  which  we  chose  for  the 
scriptural  foundation  of  our  argument.  "  There  re- 
maineth,  therefore,  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God.  For 
he  that  is  entered  into  his  rest,  hath  ceased  from  his 
own  works  as  God  did  from  his.  Let  us  labor,  there- 
fore, to  enter  into  that  rest."  Here  is  an  assurance, 
drawn  from  the  previous  argument  of  the  inspired 
writer,  that  the  people  of  God  shall  have  an  eternal 
rest.  Then  the  character  of  that  rest  is  given,  inas- 
much as  the  people  of  God  rest  from  their  w^orks  as 
God  did  from  his.  And  a  practical  inference  is  stated 
in  the  form  of  an  exhortation  that  we  should  labor  in 
order  to  attain  the  eternal  rest. 

Man,  at  the  first,  was  created  a  child  of  God  in  his 
own  right,  and  had  he  been  -faithful  to  the  covenant, 
which  made  a  continuance  of  the  divine  favor  contin- 
gent upon  his  obedience,  all  his  posterity  would  have 
been  the  people  of  God.     Formed  as  a  finite  likeness 
of  the  infinite  God,  the  employment  assigned  him  was 
as  much  like  that  of  God  as  a  creature's  could  resem- 
ble the  Creator's.     He  could  originate  nothing :  that  is 
the  prerogative  of  the  Supreme ;  but  he  could  employ 
the  creatures  of  God,  inferior  to  himself,  for  the  same 
end  as  that  for  which  God  had  made  them,  the  Cre- 
ator's glory  ;  therefore  did  he  receive  from  God  a  vice- 
regal authority  and  control  over  all  the  inferipr  creation. 
"Thou  hast  put,"  saith  the  Psalmist,  "  all  things  under 
his  feet."     Hence,  as  God  rested  from  his  works  as  the 
Creator,  it  was  necessary  to  carry  out  man's  resem- 
blance  of  God,  that  he  also  should  have  a  rest  from  his 
peculiar  works.     Therefore  was  the  Sabbath  appointed 
that  he  might  rest  with  God,  and  only  in  proportion, 


VOL.   II. 


32 


' 


I 


Ji 


498  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.    [Lkct.  XLVU. 

but  certainly  in  proportion  as  his  - J^  -^^f  ^ 
holy  zeal  and  purpose  the  works  of  God,  was  he  pre- 
nared  for  sympathy  with  the  rest  of  God. 
^  Man  Vand  with  all  his  posterity  lost  the  dmne 
We;  and  no  more  are  we,  by  our  own  -tural  "ght, 
Ae  people  of  God,  nor  are  we  entitled  to  the  Sabbath- 
reroJ  fitted  for  its  enjoyment,  since  the  or,g.nal  sym- 
pathy between  God  and  man  is  destroyed. 
'^  The  mercy  of  God  in  the  redemption  has  repaired 
for  all  believers  the  breach  of  the  apostasy.    Regen- 
elted  man  again  resembles  God  as  to  hs  nature  e^- 
pbyment,  and  rest.     He  takes  the  ^me  place  m    he 
neTcreation  as  that  which  he  held  and  lost  m    he 
S  -but  so  much  more  gloriously  and  securely  as  the 
second  creation  excels  the  former.    The  second  cove- 
Zt  Ccommonly  called  the  covenant  of  grace)  is,  in 
Xt   a  continuance  of  the  first  covenant  (commonly 
S  L  covenant  of  works)  for  life  is  st.U^^^^^^^^^ 
rendition  of  obedience.    The  Son  of  God,  made  nesn 
Tie  performance  of  human  duties  and  the  endurance 
S  humL  suffering,  comes,  according  to  dmne  appomt. 
Int  as  the  second  Adam,  in  the  station  vacated  by  the 
fiit      The  covenant  is  renewed  with  him   acUng  on 
wllf  of  believers,  who   are   called  by  the  prophe 
iiah  "his  seed."     The  reward  of  the  first  covenant 
t^  of  mere  man's  obedience,  therefore  finite,  and  fo 
The  same  reason,  perishable ;  but  the  new  hfe  under  the 
gospel  is  the  reward  of  Christ,  the  Immanuel  s  infi- 
Sdy  meritorious  righteousness,  therefore  ,s  ,t  mcom- 
parably  glorious  and  infallibly  eternal.     Earth  .s  too 
^U,  time  too  short,  to  contain  it;  there^re  :s  .^ 
scene  transferred  to  an  everiastmg  heaven.    So,  also, 
damage  of  God  renewed  immortally  and  far  more 


Lbct.  XLVII.]     the  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.  499 

illustriously  in  the  believer's  soul,  because  he  derives  it 
from  his  personal  union  to  the  only-begotten  Son  of 
God,  his  Elder  Brother,  and  it  is  perpetually  main- 
tamed  by  the  ever-living  Spirit  of  God  dwelling  in 
him.  Thus  are  all  believers  united  and  owned  and 
blessed  in  Christ  as  the  people  of  God  ;  and  eventually 
the  whole  church  will  be  glorified  with  Christ  in  God, 
throughout  the  rest  eternal. 

But  the  new  creation,  like  the  first,  is  gradual,  not 
mstantaneous.     It  is,  for  wise  reasons,  (some  of  which 
are  known  and  might  be  given  had  we  the  time,)  pro- 
gressive, both  as  respects  the  individual  believer  and 
the  church.     This  creation  Christ,  on  the  part  of  God, 
being  the  representative  of  the  Godhead,  is  carrying  on 
by  his  almighty  power ;  and,  on  the  part  of  his  church, 
being  the  representative  of  his  people,  by  his  delegated 
authority  as  the  second  Adam,  "  under  whose  feet  are 
put  all  things."      Again ;  in  Christ,  according  to  the 
true  sense  of  his  scriptural  title,  "  the  First-bom  of 
every  creature,"  is  regenerated  man  made  heir  and  lord 
of  all  things,  which  he  is  bound  to  use  for  the  glory  of 
the  Creator.      He  takes  the  same  place  in  the  new 
creation   that  he  held  in  the  first.     God,  by  Christ, 
employs  his  instrumentality  for  the  furtherance  of  his 
grand  purpose.     God  put  man  in  Eden,  to  keep  it  and 
to  dress  it ;  but  he  assigns  to  the  Christian  a  far  more 
noble  and  ennobling  employment.      By  our  prayers, 
our  obedience,  our  example,  and  our  zeal,  he  conde- 
scends to  convert  sinners  and  edify  believers  in  their 
sanctifying  faith.     The  Christian  is  a  worker  together 
with  God.     "  God  worketh  in  him  both  to  will  and  to 
do,  of  his  good  pleasure."     The  new  creation  is  yet 
going  on.      Soon  it  will  be  accomplished,  and  the 


500  THE  PUEPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.    [Lbct.XLVU. 

'.eighty  Saviour  rest  from  ^is  -rL  Je^s  finished 
Ws  personal  work  on  -r^,  a.d  entered  ^  ^^ 

as  the  Forerunner  of  1»    P^'j^    ^^  U^tev  and  rests 

Snolbe  p.rf«»a  unffl  0,e  ehurf,  b.  »»^e»  " 

1  TT„fn  tT.Pn  the  church  must  labor.     When  it 

f  :i^o.pl«S;S\nd  his  people  will  rest  together 
God  s3l  a<.a in  behold  all  that  it  is  very  good    and 
fhat  SabbatWawn  whose  sun  shall  no  -ore  go  ^7^ 
Then  shall  they  who  have  shared  in  the  woil.,  share  n 
Te Toy  of  tlir  Lord.      As  he  beholds  with  mfinae 
Smpkcency  the  results  of  his  efficient  grace,      the 
3  y  working  by  which  he  is   now  subduing   all 
S^l^to  himself,"  they  shall  sympathize  with  h>s  sa^>s- 
Ttion  as  the  honored  instruments  of  his  power.     The 

SZhs  of  the  Redeemer  will  be  their  triumphs,  and, 
tnumpns  ui  tu  ,  .^^  ^^^.^  y^s 

while  they  give  him  all  the  £ory,  they 
reward.      Every    good    act   done,   every      o 
,noken  every  good  purpose  cherished  and  prayed  tor, 
spoken,  e^eryg        y    ^        j^t  to  Christ,  every  Chns- 

trtrC'aSd  on^is  way  to  heaven    will 
S  S  m  a  deeper  fellowship  with  him  who  shall  have 
Semed  all,  converted  all,  sanctified  all.  and  gorified 
an.    As  the  divine  Father  looks  over  heaven  filled  with 
.Smortal  trophies  of  his  mercy,  ""d  *e  divine  Son 
Ces  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  is  satisfied,    and 
the  divine  Spirit  sheds  light  and  peace  and  bve Jhrou^ 
all  the  spirits  he  has  made  perfect,  the  fajthfal  Chr.st.an 
li  drink  abundantly  of  the  rivers  of  the  divine  pleas- 


Leot.  xlvii.]    the  purpose  of  the  sabbath. 


501 


ure,  for  "he  shall  rest  from  his  own  works  as  God 
doth  from  his."  What  an  argument  and  encour- 
agement for  us  to  labor  that  we  may  enter  into  tliat 
rest  in  which  the  ungodly  and  the  slothful  can  have  no 
part. 

The  Sabbaths  of  the  church  on  earth  are  so  many 
successive  stations,  from  whose  Pisgah-like  eminences 
we  may  look  back  on  the  work  we  have  done,  and  for- 
ward to  the  reward  of  glory  promised.  Only  as  we 
are  faithful  fellow-workers  with  Christ  can  we  enter 
into  the  eternal  rest  of  heaven ;  so,  only  as  we  work 
for  Christ,  are  we  prepared  and  entitled  to  enjoy  the 
rest  of  the  Sabbath.  The  rest  of  heaven  is  holy  in 
communion  with  God ;  so  only  may  we  keep  the  Sab- 
bath on  earth.  The  Sabbath  now,  "  having,"  Hke  the 
old  law,  "  a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come,"  is  not  a 
perfect  rest,  because  it  is  but  a  day,  and,  being  followed 
by  a  secular  week,  must  be  used  as  a  preparation  for 
work  before  us:  the  rest  of  heaven  is  complete;  its 
"  sun  shall  no  more  go  down  " ;  the  people  of  God 
shall  no  more  go  out  into  temptation  and  toil ;  they  rest 
from  all  their  labors,  and  their  faithful  works  do  follow 
them. 

Thus  we  have  the  clear  and  consonant  testimony  of 
all  Scripture  to  the  divine  purpose  of  the  Sabbath,  — 
that  it  is  a  purely  religious  ordinance,  for  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  adoring  worship  of  man,  and  for  the  spirit- 
ual benefit  of  man,  in  its  sanctifying  power  over  his  life 
on  earth,  and,  therefore,  his  preparation  to  enter  an 
immortal  blessedness  beyond  the  grave. 

From  the  whole  subject  a  multitude  of  important 
practical  inferences  might  be  drawn.  We  have  time 
but  for  a  few  of  the  most  comprehensive. 


• 


502  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.     [Lect.  XLTU. 

First  :  Cautim  in  arguing  the  value  of  the  Sahhath 
from  iU  mere  temporal  benefits. 

As  a  rest  from  toil,  a  day  on  which  the  weary  bearer 
may  lay  aside  the  burden  from  his  aching  shoulders ; 
the  laborer  look  up,  wash  from  his  face  the  dusty  sweat, 
and  stand  erect  the  equal  of  his  master  by  the  procla- 
mation of  God ;  and  even  the  patient  beasts,  that  all 
tfae  week  have  slaved  for  man's  convenience  or  luxury, 
may  be  free  from  the  yoke;  as  a  glad  festival,  durmg 
whose  emancipated  hours  the  thought  of  work  is  an 
iniury   and  a  profanation,  the   Sabbath   is   beautiful. 
The  ingenuity  of  man  has  discovered  nothing  so  beau- 
tiful     Neither  may  we  doubt  that  its  periodical  repose, 
when  legitimately  accepted,  especially  with  the  clean- 
liness it  suggests,  is  necessary  for  the  repair  of  animal 
energy  and  mental  vigor ;  or  that  work  on  the  Sabbath 
is  in  the  main  not  only  a  hindrance  but  a  loss.     It  is 
the  poor  man's  property,  the  rich  man's  benefit,  the 
dumb  brute's  right,  and  a  luxury  for  all ;  a  golden  link 
bricrhtening  at  brief  intervals  the  chain  of  our  iron 
days,  the  happy  memento  of  the  primal  age  wlien  no 
curse  had  bhghted  our   earth's   spontaneous  fertihty. 
Yet  should  we  never,  even  by  implication,  allow  the 
thoucrht  already  too  common,  that  the  Sabbath,  though 
made  for  man,  is  not  the  Lord's  but  man's  to  dispose 
of  as  he  lists ;  a  convenience  granted,  which  he  may  use 
or  not,  as  he  chooses,  instead  of  an  ordinance,  the  sanc- 
tion of  which  he  is  bound  to  obey  ;  a  prescnbed  grace 
to  his  soul  rather  than  to  his  body,  and  to  his  body  as 
the  unconscious  servant  of  his  spirit.     By  such  a  line 
of  argument  we  move  the  question  of  its  observance 
from  under  divine  authority,  and  make  it  one  of  indus- 
trial economies,  which  outwork  themselves  most  health- 


Lect.  XLVH.]    THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


503 


fully  when  least  constrained  by  artificial  rules,  or  those 
not  imposed  upon  them  unalterably  by  the  Author  of 
providence. 

Besides,  the  absence  of  necessity  for  work,  mere  leis- 
ure, simple  idleness,  so  far  from  being  by  itself,  even 
rarely,  a  blessing,  is  rather,  as  all  experience  shows,  a 
provocation  to  sensual  indulgence  and  wasteful  crime, 
especially  among  the  ignorant  and  toilworn,  who  have 
few  luxuries  within  their  reach,  and  less  opportunity  to 
enjoy  them.     We  cannot  be  awake  and  be  wholly  in- 
active.     Our  compound  nature  is  never  safe,  except 
when  moral  knowledge  and  moral  principle  strengthen 
the  spirit  to  master  the  flesh.     This  is  the  great  virtue 
of  the  Sabbath.     Because  on  that  day,  and  that  day 
alone,  the  schools  of  religion  and  morality  are  open  to 
all,  and  all  have  leisure  to  attend  them,  the  Sabbath  is 
a  blessing  to  a  truly  Christian  people.     When  it  is  not 
so  observed,  it  becomes  a  curse,  especially  for  those 
who  need  its  physical  rest  the  most.     There  has  been 
much  finely  said  by  superficial,  though  well-meaning 
philanthropists,  and  even  some  excellent  Christians,  as 
to  the  unmercifulness  of  shutting  up  the  hard-worked 
poor,  particularly  of  crowded  cities,  within  the  walls  of 
churches  or  their  own  homes  on  the  day  of  rest,  when 
they  should  be  free  to  walk  abroad,  or  avail  themselves 
of  steamboat  and  railroad  that  they  may  enjoy  the  fresh 
works  of  God,  or  wile  away  the  pleasant  hours  with 
innocent  pastimes.     But,  saying  little  of  the  injustice 
to  the  many  who  are  made,  by  such  practices,  greater  * 
slaves  on  the  Sabbath  than  on  any  other  day  for  the 
convenience  of  the  rest,  we  are  clear  in  believing  that 
the  Sabbath-keeping,  church-going  poor  have  the  best 
enjoyment  of  its  sacred  hours,  and  go  freshest,  cheer- 


504  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.    [Lect.  XLVII. 

fullest,  happiest  to  their  work  on  the  Monday  morning. 
That  keenly  satirical  moralist,  Hogarth,  has  well  set 
this  forth  in  his  contrasted  pictures  of  Sunday  Morning 
and  Sunday  Evening,  where   the  reehng  father,  the 
flushed,  bedraggled  wife,  and  the  tired,  blubbered  child, 
who  had  gone  out  together  for  a  day's  pleasure,  tell  the 
miserable  story  of  a  broken  Sabbath.     What  must  be 
their  Monday  morning,  with  its  empty  purse,  its  aching 
heads,  and  surly  remorse !     A  poor  Christian  family 
has  spent  the  day  in  thankful  peace ;  gone  in  their  clean, 
though  humble  raiment  to  the  house  of  God,  joined  in 
the  sacred  harmony, -to  them  a  richer  treat  than  the 
most  artistic  concert  to  our  fastidious  ears,  —  listened 
to  the  elevating  gospel,  emphatically  theirs,  because 
preached  first  to  them  by  the  carpenter  of  Nazareth, 
and,  after  the  sanctity  of  household  devotion,  laid  them- 
selves down  to  unfevered  sleep.     They  shall  awake  in 
the  morning  rested  and  strong,  vigorous  from  a  sense 
of  duty,  cheered  by  divine  sympathy,  and  reconciled  to 
all  life's  trying  urgencies  by  the  hope  of  a  Sabbath  sin- 
less and  eternal.     If  the  laborer  must  have  a  holiday, 
—  and  I,  for  one,  would  be  far  from  refusing  it,  —  let 
him  take  it  from  the  six  ;  but  oh !  encourage  him  not 
to  trample  upon  the  Sabbath,  the  memorial  of  Eden, 
the  prelibation  of  Heaven !     Press,  also,  close  upon  the 
consciences  of  those  who  force  or  bribe  their  fellow-ser- 
vants to  toil  during  the  sacred  rest,  not  only  their  cruel 
robberv  of  the  poor  man's  right,  scanty  enough  at  the 
best,  but  still  more  earnestly  their  wrong  of  society  in 
depriving  him  of  moral  culture,  their  outrage  upon  his 
heart  in^'shutting  up  his  access  to  God,  and  their  mur- 
der  of  his  soul  in  tempting  him  to  sin,  and  the  neglect 
of  the  best  means  for  attaining  everlasting  rest. 


Lect.  XL Vn.]  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


505 


Secondly:  Reliance  upon  the  truth  and  Spirit  of 
Crod  only,  for  the  vindication  and  enforcement  of  this 
ordinance  of  God, 

^  The  Son  of  man  is  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  ;  but  his 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  Every  bond  by  which, 
in  our  impatience,  we  would  unite  religion  to  secular 
power,  is  hurtful.  The  world  will  use  the  church  for 
its  own  purposes,  but  never  keep  its  part  of  the  unjusti- 
fiable covenant.  Something  may  seem  to  be  due  us  on 
the  score  of  protection  in  our  rights  as  Christian  citi- 
zens, but  Christians  should  be  chary  of  enforcing  their 
rights.  We  are  the  few  among  the  many;  and  the 
time-servers  who  deprecated  our  favor  before  we  drew 
out  our  line  of  battle,  will  laugh  us  to  scorn  when  they 
see  our  weakness.  Our  moral  influence,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God  upon  the  authorized  means,  is  great,  but  the 
moment  we  fight  with  carnal  weapons  we  shall  be  put 
to  the  worst.  The  devil  and  his  allies  are  impregnable 
on  his  own  ground ;  we  can  destroy  his  defences  only 
from  the  superior  heights  of  truth  and  love. 

The  Sabbath,  with  its  ordinances,  has  by  divine  grace 
the  inherent  power  to  establish  itself.  By  its  moral 
teachings,  its  faithful  warnings,  and  hope-inspirino* 
promises  drawn  from  the  almighty  word  of  God,  it  can 
draw  men  to  worship  around  the  cross  which  it  uplifts, 
when  force  can  make  but  reluctant  hypocrites  or  pro- 
fane idlers.  The  gospel,  the  pure  gospel,  the  gospel  in 
its  light  and  love,  is  "  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation."  Give  the  gospel  to  the  Sab- 
bath, and  the  gospel  will  save  the  Sabbath.  We  lose 
time,  we  waste  energy,  and  corrupt  our  faith,  when  we 
attempt  to  accomplish  religious  good  by  any  other 
method. 


J 


606 


THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SABBATH.     [Lect.  XLVII. 


Thirdly  :   Wise  diligence  in  setting  a  proper  example 
qf  honor  to  tjie  Sabbath-day. ' 

Our  faithful  manifestation  of  regard  for  its  holy  pur- 
poses and  edifying  privileges  will  do  more  than  mere 
words  to  compel  for  it  the  respect  of  our  fellow-men. 
It  is  the  example  of  Christians  which  is  their  light  m 
the  world,  the  leaven  which,  by  the  grace  of  God,  is  to 
leaven  the  whole  mass.     But  let  it  be  a  proper  exam- 
ple of  the  Sabbath,— proper  to  its  character,  its  com- 
memorations, and  ks  revelations  of  hope.    It  is  the  day 
which  the  Lord  hkth  made,  that  we  may  rejoice  and  be 
glad  in  it.     It  is  essentially  a  festival.     Even  on  a  fast- 
day,  God,  by  his  prophet,  forbids  us  to  hang  down  our 
head,  like  a  bulrush,  and  by  his  Son  commands  us  to 
wash  our  face  and  anoint  our  head :  how  much  more 
on  the  Sabbath-day  ?     As  men  are  unnecessarily  preju- 
diced  against  the  gospel  by  a  self-righteous  asceticism, 
the  very  opposite  of  evangelical  liberty,  so  are  they 
repelled  from  the  Sabbath  by  a  pragmatical  gloom  and 
severity.     Be  it  our  care  to  show  men  that  we  hold  the 
Sabbath  to  be  "a  dehghf' ;  and  that  when  the  Lord 
lifts  upon  us,  with  its  sacred  morning,  "  the  light  of  his 
countenance,"  "there  is  gladness  in  our  hearts  more 
than"  in   theirs   "when   their   corn  and   their  wine 
abound."     It  is  the  day  of  communion  with  God,  when 
heaven  is  opened  that  we  may  see  Jesus  at  the  right 
hand  of  his  Father  ;  therefore  should  our  faces  shine  as 
those  of  happy  angels.     It  is  the  day  on  which  the 
grace  of  the  Spirit  flows  down  from  the  head  of  our 
High  Priest  over  all  his  church ;  therefore  should  all 
her  garments  be  fragrant  with  the  name  of  Jesus.     It 
k  the  foretaste  of  eternal  joy  ;  therefore  should  we  look 
up,  the  happiest  of  the  happy. 


INDEX. 

— • — 

PACT 

Accountability  of  man,  i 74 

Adam's  breach  of  the  Covenant 68 

first  Sabbath  in  Eden,  ii 491 

Administrator,  the,  of  Baptism 226 

of  the  Sacrament 284 

Adoption,  doctrine  of,  i 229 

Advantages  to  us  of  our  Lord's  ascension 460 

Advocacy  of  Christ 46I 

Aim  of  idolatry,  ii 455 

Ancient  civilization  from  the  East 443 

Theistic  philosophers 430 

Antiquity  of  the  belief  in  a  golden  age 449 

Apostles  ordained  to  testify  to  our  Lord's  resurrection,  i 430 

Apostolical  succession,  ii 349  352 

Aquinas,  Thomas,  quoted,  i 36O  396 

Ascension  of  Christ 453 

Association  of  Christ  with  the  Father  in  the  exercise  of  all  power 474 

Assurance 24 

Athanasius  on  the  two  tables  of  the  law,  ii 413 

Attacks  on  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  successfully  defeated,  i 9 

Augustine,  St.,  on  the  Creed 179 

on  Infant  Baptism,  ii 247 

Author  of  forgiveness gg 

Author's,  the,  reasons  for  writing  these  Lectures,  i 3' 

Authority,  the,  of  Baptism,  ii , 205 

of  Christ,  delegated,  1 474 

to  judge,  derived  ftom  his  royal  dignity 484 

Baptism,  its  design,  ii 207 

a  sign,  210;  a  seal,  216;  and  a  profession 217 

not  regeneration 2I8 

mode  of  administration 225 

act  official,  not  personal 227 

circumstances  of. 227 

subjects  fit  for 243 

signing  with  the  cross 228 

the  formula 228 


ftHiiifrliiit  I 


>n<t     rfi     ■ 


J 


508  J™^- 

PAOK 

229 
Baptism,  manner  of  appl\nng  the  water,  u ^^^ 

at  the  Pentecost ^45 

reaTonV  whyinfants  of  believers  should  be  baptized 251 

Baptists  originally  called  Anabaptists.  ••/•.••;••••*••••  V  "^ 229 

Baptize  and  baptism,  meaning  of  the  ongmal  words  rendered. .... . . .  229 

Being  and  unity  of  God,  i •  • ^^^ 

Benefits  Christians  receive  from  Christ's  death ^^^ 

from  Christ's  resurrection 

Blood  necessary  to  an  expiatory  sacrifice,  ii 

Bread,  not  wafers,  essential  to  the  Sacrament 

Catechism,  Heidelberg,  origin  of  the,  i *  ^ 

history  of  the . 

Vander  Kemp's  opinion  of  the ' '  * ' '  *  •"  Vir *  •  * 

object  of  the,  as  set  forth  by  the  Elector  Iredenc  III.  m 

his  preface  to  the  first  edition J 

system  of  the,  ascribed  to  Ursinus •••••• 

svnod  assembled  at  Heidelberg,  1562,  to  examme  the  ... .  7 

valuable  old  edition  of  the,  yet  published  at  Neustadt. ...  9 

symbolical  book  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church lu 

numerous  editions  of  the,  in  all  ancient  and  modem  ^^ 

tongues - - 

prepared  for  professing  Christians ^^ 

benefits,  ii •••»••♦••• 

Certainty  that  God's  sentences  will  be  executed,  i ^^^ 

Christ,  the  title •'"/^"i 148 

significant  of  appointment  by  God ^^ 

why  Jesus  is  called • • ^90 

etymolog}'  of  the  word ^^ 

our  High  Priest ^^^ 

universal  dominion  given  to ^^J 

Governorof  all  things ^^^ 

Sonship  and  government  of. 

head  of  the  Church 

why  called  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God ^^^ 

■whv  called  our  Lord * 

truly  man  in  body,  335 ;  in  soul ^  ' 

the  history  of,  shows  the  truth  of  his  humanity ^^» 

truly  God .^ 

God  and  man  in  one  person 

reasons  for  the  incarnation  of •  • 

lionor  of  the  divine  law  secured  by,  i.  108 ;  ii ^^^ 


INDEX. 


509 


PAGB 

Christ,  maintenance  of  divine  authority  secured  by,  i 109 

reformation  of  the  pardoned  sinner  secured  by 109 

condemned  by  a  temporal  judge 364 

on  the  throne  as  ruler  and  judge 471 

Christ's  kingdom  has  two  parts 303 

lordship,  the  source  of 325 

the  object  of,  326;  the  right  of 327 

suffering  and  cross,  i 353 

the  purpose  of,  the  sufferings  of 354 

the  cause  of 356 

the  duration  of 361 

death  and  burial 375 

burial 380 

sepulchre 382 

dominion  vast  in  extent 474 

glory  preeminent 475 

Christian  discipline,  ii 360 

the,  belongs  to  Christ,  i 17 

is  bought  by  Christ 18 

the,  is  Christ's  by  his  own  vow 19 

Christian's  comfort 13 

duty  to  be  happy 14 

Christians  dependent  on  one  another,  ii 76 

Chrysostom  on  infant  baptism 247 

Church,  meaning  of  the  word 58 

holy 61 

catholic 63 

Church  government,  three  kinds  of. 69 

jurisdiction  restricted  to  matters  purely  spiritual 358 

what  is  meant  by  the,  in  Matt,  xviii.  15-20  355 

Comfort,  the  only,  of  believers,  i 12 

obtained  from  the  judgeship  of  Christ 485 

from  his  exaltation 485 

Communion  of  saints,  ii 70 

duties  consequent  upon 73 

service  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church 276 

Connection  of  the  Sabbath  with  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  of  the 

Sabbath,  i 428 

Condemnation  of  man  under  Adam  justified 82 ' 

extent  of  man's 90 

Conscience,  decisions  of 34 

Consequences  of  belonging  to  Christ 20 

pardon,  deliverance,  preservation 22 

assurance 24 

Conversion,  nature  of  true,  ii 378 


no 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

380 
390 
390 


Conversion,  a  radical  change,  ii 

excitement  no  proof  of  . 

consummated  in  heaven ^23 

Creation  of  heaven  and  earth,  i • ^^g 

Creed,  the,  error  concerning  the  origin  of ^^^ 

encomium  on  the,  by  St.  Augustine ^^^ 

the,  divided  into  three  parts ^^^ 

fundamental  doctrine  of  the ^^ 

history  of  the,  ii ^ ggjj 

Cross,  the,  why  our  Lord  was  put  to  death  on,  1 •  ^^^ 

Crucifixion,  nature  of yg 

Cultivation  of  Christian  love,  ii 246 

Cyprian  on  Infant  Baptism 

,      ..  407 

Danger  of  acting  from  impulse,  n ••  •  •         ..  .«, 

^     of  making  dogmas  and  decrees  of  men  our  rule  of  obedience . .  407 

Day  of  bread 

of  judgment  fixed 

Decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent 

Descent  into  hell,  ';^——^l^^,  .^icle  of  the  earlier  creeds 
nevertheless  a  scriptural  fact 

Design  of  God  in  creating  man • 

Distinct  personality  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  ii •     ^^ 

405 


>«• •* •«  «• < 


285 

13 

326 

395 

396 

397 

54 

28 


Divinitv,  true,  of  the  Holy  Ghost 

Divine  glory  the  motive  to  good  works '  V.  *  170 


source  of  faith,  i 


413 


Division  of  the  two  tables  of  the  law,  11 ,,,....    65 

Donatists,  the •/*".',,* 1 1  115 

Drew  on  the  resurrection  of  the  body ^^^ 

Dun  Scotus  an  opponent  of  transubstantiation ^^^ 

Duration  of  animated  existence 


160 


Engrafting  into  Christ,  i. ^g^ 

Enjoyment  of  God's  favor,  ii 191 


Essence  of  idolatry,  1 


163 


Essential  parts  of  genuine  faith .'.*..!  497 


92 
405 


Eternal  rest,  11. 

Everlasting  punishment,  i •  •  • 

Examination  of  texts  on  the  descent  into  hell 

155, 162 

Faith,  nature  of  true,  1 -.«• ^^^ 

saving,  ii •  •  • '  *. ^g« 

is  the  personal  application  of  the  gospel,  1 ;J"^ 

the  method  of  engraftment  into  Christ ^^'■ 


INDEX. 


611 


PAOB 

Faith  unites  us  to  Christ,  i 173 

in  God  the  Father 213 

in  Christ  necessary 156 

to  be  estimated  by  the  effect  on  our  hearts  and  lives,  ii 373 

proved  by  our  desire  that  others  should  glorify  God 374 

from  the  Holy  Ghost  through  the  Word  and  the  Sacraments 185 

wrought  in  the  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost 189 

source  of 186 

Fall  of  man,  i 32 

Fear  or  reverence  due  to  God,  ii 435 

First  commandment,  the 425 

Forgiveness  of  sins 81 

nature  of 82 

etymology  of 84 

means  of 87 

extent  of 92 

Seneca  on 85 

Four  great  councils  of  the  Church  defined  and  established  the  divinity 

and  humanity  of  Christ,  i 343 

Free-will 81 

French  school  of  Infidels,  ii 445 

Ghost,  etymology  of  the  word,  ii 25 

u lory  01  vjrOQ,  1 56 

Glorifying  God  a  principal  part  of  future  blessedness,  ii 189 

God,  meaning  of  the  word,  i 182,  216 

the  Sovereign  Ruler 33 

the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  title  analyzed.  216 

why  called  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 219 

why  called  the  Father  of  his  intelligent  creatures 220 

supreme  acknowledgment  of,  ii 428 

our  obligations  to 400 

Good  works  cannot  save  us,  i 101 

necessity  of,  ii 368 

nature  of. 396 

cannot  be  part  of  our  righteousness  before  God 169 

defined 402 

performed  according  to  the  law  of  God 403 

Gospel,  the 190 

sacraments  confirm  the 191 

Grace  of  God,  renewing 368 

not  a  mere  impulse  or  force 371 

Hall,  Bishop,  on  the  resurrection,  i 437,  441 

Hebrew  words  gehenna,  sheolj  nqj^esh   399 


I 


!      .1 


612 


INDEX. 


Heidelberg,  Luther  at,  i 

ecclesiastical  council  at. 


,«••■••••« 


Hell, 


PAQB 

5 
6 

398 


,  meaning  of  the  word 21  34 


Holy  Ghost,  divinity  of, 


name 


•••••• 


24 
30 


personal  properties  ascribed  to  the 

personal  acts  ascribed  to  the • 

official  work  of ' ' 

benefits  to  believers  conferred  by  the  personal  agency  of 


the 


36 


operations  of  the,  extraordinary  and  ordmary 37 

the  work  of  the,  on  those  who  are  saved 

Christ  and  all  his  benefits  applied  by  the.  38;  religious 

comfort,  47;  eternal  indwelling ^ 

sent  as  a  proof  of  Christ's  ascension,  i *^« 

Human  depravity,  its  origin ^^ 

not  from  God 

from  man  himself. 

Humiliation  unto  death,  our  Lord's ^^ 

Hypotheses  of  geologists  contradictory 


440 
443 


Idolatry,  what  is,  n 

origin  and  history  of. I"  ";' \""y^-"'^\n 

Immediate  duties  we  owe  to  God,  are  right  knowledge  of  him,  trus  in 
W433:  heartfelt  love  to  him,  434;  reverence,  ^^^'^^^^^^^  ^^^ 

.....!!. 01,154 


him,  433;  heartfelt 
consecration  to  his  service 


333 
337 
343 
303 
12 
90 


Imputation 

Incarnation  of  Christ,  i •  •  •  •  • 

fable  of  Romanists  concerning  the 

Incarnation,  reasons  for  the •  •  •    •   •  •   •  •  •  •  • ; 

Incorporation  of  the  believer  with  the  body  of  Christ,  ii 

Individuality  of  each  sinner  at  the  judgment 

Intimate  relations  of  body  and  soul,  i ^'^ 

Introductory  remarks ****:. 439 

Invocation  of  saints  or  other  creatures,  11 .*.*!".*.'.!!!'.  246 

Irenieus  on  Infant  Baptism. * !  184 

Irrational  doctrine  of  chance,  i 

.147,261,262 

264 

268 


Jesus  the  name,  i •  •  • '  * 

etymology  and  significance  of  the  word., 


nature  of  salvation  by.. .272 


method  of  salvation  by 
Jesus  Christ,  the  societ}^  of. .. 

Jewell,  bishop,  quoted,  ii 

Jewish  belief  in  three  heavens,  i 


•  •  •  •  •  • 


«••••■••• 


•  «•••••• 


290 
190 
225 


INDEX. 


513 


Judgment  by  Christ,  ii ^^" 

Justice  of  God  satisfied  by  the  righteousness  of  Jesus,  i .  "    107-112 

Justification  by  faith j^^ 

makes  us  righteous  before  God 150 

frees  us  from  all  penalties,  and  entitles  us  to  all 

rewards 153 

Justin  Martyr's  argument  for  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  ii .! ...... .  100 

Martyr  on  early  discipleship 246 

Keys  which  open  and  shut  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  ii 360 

of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  are  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  and 

Christian  discipline oca 

Knowledge  of  our  misery,  i 31 

Law  of  God  the  test  of  our  condition,  i 32 

a  perfect  legislation 37 

unchangeable ^y 

Likeness  of  man  to  God  threefold :  — in  understanding,  59;  in  affec- 
tion, 59 ;  in  will -q 

Life  everlasting,  ii ^ok 

is  perfect  salvation 132 

tfae  earnest  of,  in  the  heart  of  a  Christian 140 

•    Life,  three  uses  of  the  term 127 

Lord,  our,  an  epithet  of  authority,  i 146 

Lord's  table  not  an  altar,  ii 2B3 

Love  to  God,  strength  of  true 387 

produces  joy ...['..'.'.'.'.'.  388 

includes  love  to  man 421 

comprehends  fidelity  and  obedience,  i 41 

Man  cannot  satisfy  divine  justice,  i jQg 

Man's  inability  to  fulfil  the  law 44 

moral  creation gg 

substitute  must  be  verv'  man ! !  121 

must  be  very  God,  i.  128;  ii 158 

Mass,  Popish,  ii '  *  *  noQ 

etymology  of  the  word ! ! !     325 

Meaning  of  the  phrase  "  he  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God,"  i. 473 

Mediator,  qualities  of  the • ;;;;  ^g 

necessity  of  a 99 

provision  of  a gg 

our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the liO 

Jesus  the  human  name  of  the 147 

Men  governed  by  men,  ii ' '.'.\[\'.\[\'.]['.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.      7 

Mercy  of  God,  i ^4 

VOL.  II.  33 


I    ;■ 


514 


INDEX. 


PAcn 

360 

Merit  of  Christ's  sufferings,! ^^ 

by  belonging  to  Chnst,  i ^^ 

Morality ;• ;; :;;;;!!;;ii:'i^^' 383 

Mortification  of  the  old  man,  u 

129 

Nature  of  the  soul,  iL.... 143 

New  sense  of  the  Divine  Word '..!...!...!..-.  161 

No  merit  in  faith ••  ••  • 397 

Nominalists 

Opinion  of  Jews  .nd  Mol^^mmedan,  on  the  resurrection  of  the  body,,!.  US 

*^^h:^t"nthe«sur;;;u»;nh;bc;dy;:;:::.: ^o* 

422 

Paley,  Archdeacon,  error  of,ii....t 249 

Particularity  of  Providence,  i ..'!..!.........  265 

Passover  explained,  ii " 247 

Pelagius '*■///. 422 

Perpetuity  of  the  law •••• 15 

Person  of  the  judge 248 

Peter  de  Bruis •    •  •  •  •  •  •  • ' * 35O 

Peter  St.,  bishop  of  Rome,  doubtful  "•••;•.••••••• 351 

if  a  rock  on  which  Christ  built  his  church ^^ 

prerogatives  of,  given  to  all  the  apostles  m  — -'  y  '  —  ^3 

Philo  quoted • * ' 429 

Plato  on  the  duty  of  worship ••••** ggg 

Plato's  just  man,  i •• . .  362 

?:;";;.napri«t,h.venotn;u»;aou,ene^;ii::::::.---;;3^^^ 

Popish  error  refuted "*1*.... 347 

Power  of  the  keys ......••  ••••'*'  *  *  ^^3 

P°ryer  made  acceptable  through  the  advocacy  of  Chn't.  -■••••  ••••  ^ 

Privileges  of  adoption .". 414 

Proof  that  the  decalogue  is  binding  upon  us,  1. ^^^ 

Properties  of  saving  faith " 297 

Prophet,  meaning  of  the  word,  1 i !.!...... 459 

Profane  swearing,  ii 471 

Piofaaity  leads  to  perjury • * 4^3 

trifling  with  divine  names  IS • ^^ 

wanton  use  of  scriptural  expressions  is •  •  ^^^ 

a  sin  against  knowledge ^gg 

a  sin  without  temptation .  287 

Providence  of  God,  i., 


INDEX. 


515 


Providence,  etjTnoIogy  of  the  word,  i.  ''^^^ 

fact  of 238 

extent  of ^^^ 

objections  against,  confuted  .....' Itl 

practical  lessons  deduced  from         f:? 

agrees  with  God's  M'ord ^ 

only  partially  explains  the  will  of  God ." .' .' .' .' ' .' .' .'  .* .' .' .' .' .'  .*  .*  [    ^ 

Quickening  of  the  new  man,  ii. 

'     386 

"'^  wr  ^z^^r  -' '-' '- '''  ^^"^^--  -  en. 

^'''tZX.'^'.'':'':^  -^eii^spiri^s  and-fi;;.'hu;n;n'b;h;g;;dH: ''' 

Reward  promised  to  good  'works  soleiy  of  the  grace  of  God iff 

Best  from  labor  not  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath  .!f 

Resurrection  of  Christ ^^^ 

difference  in  the  corporal"  life'of  Chris't' before  and  after  ^^^ 

witnesLVofVheV.V. ; ' '  f  ^ 

of  Christ  assures  us  of  justification  407 

assures  us  of  sanctification. .  TT^ 

assures  us  of  our  final  and  full  glorification*  .'.'*.' 445 

of  the  body,  ii **^ 

purely  a  scriptural  doctrine 11 

Pliny,  Celsus,  Julian,  deny  the..  *.'.'.'." .^ft 

not  a  new  creation ^^ 

reason  for  the 

manner  of  the ^^^ 

of  our  identical  bodies JJJ 

great  joy  to  the  believer. .. .     :zl 

Revelation  concerning  the  Sabbath. .  ^  " 

Rule  of  right  conduct .  ^^^ 

398 

Sabbath,  purpose  of  the,  ii 

coeval  with  creation ^'^ 

hallowed  by  God ^^ 

made  a  blessing ^^* 

introduced  by  the  example  of  God.  ' .' .' ?f! 

laid  at  the  foundation  of  human  morals  log 

proper  example  of  honoring  the  !^« 

appointed  for  the  spiritual  benefit  of  man 40R 

saved  from  profanation  by  the  gospel  -  gnn 

connection  of  the,  with  the  resurrection  of 'the' Lord  oV  ihe 

^*^'^^*^' 428. 


516 


INDEX. 


VAOB 


,•♦•#••••■**■••  •• 


aa9 

Sacrament  of  the  Supper,  ii .••• or?i 

institution  of  the 
mode  of  the. ... 
pure  wine  important  to  the 


» «. « •'  •  •  •■■• 


»«    «»•*•!••    ••     • 


♦,,*•*♦••••.*••••••■ 


,•«•••»•' 


265 
270 
271 
273 


the  formula  of  the „.,.....--^^^ ^^^ 

the  action  of  the *" *  * 279 

the  posture  at  the • ' 285 

times  of  observance  of  the •• 194,292 

purpose  of  the :""c\u' 311 

mark'o?tt-in;;i-on  bVt^een  Christians  and  the  world. ....  314 

eflfects  of  a  faithful  partaking  of  the '.'.'.'.....  839 

the,  cannot  be  a  sacritice 162 

Salvation  all  of  grace,  i...... '.".'.^'.^'.l^r.i  ^ ''••••  •  ^^T 

School  of  Thomists,  or  realists ..1.... 39T 

Scotists  or  nominalists....... ^'''''''':'    L.. 66,67,70 

Seeker,  archbishop,  quoted,  u. .  •  •  y  • ...  -  • 83 

Sentence  passed  upon  fallen  man,! ggg 

Sincere  joy  of  heart  in  God,  ii..... .,......-■••••■• g^ 

death  the  punishment  of io4 

cannot  be  atoned  for  by  sorrow ^33 

Soothsaying,  sorcery,  s^pe^^^i^^on. . . .  • .  •  • -^^  ^  ^q 

Sovereignty  of  God,  judgment  an  attribute  of  the,  n ^   ^^^^  ^^^ 

Soul  and  body  after  this  life . .  .^  •  •  •  •  •  •  --  '--;^,^  exaltation,  i. . .  487 

Strength  for  the  Christian  life  derived  from  our  1.  ^^ 

Spirit  Holy,  poured  out  after  the  ascension ^^ 

Spiritualism,  ii 


Ten  commandments,  n 

TertuUlan  on  Infant  Baptism •  •  • • 

on  the  merits  of  Christ's  sufferings,  1. 


.1-     fu„f  r.e  nnr  Lord's  ascension  ..•..•#..••  •  • 

Testimony  to  the  fact  of  our  Lora  s  a  

ThnnkfulneSS,   U 


Thankfulness, 
Thomists . 


409 

246 

360 

454 

365 

397 

452 


Theory  of  the  Bible  corroborated  by  history .•.•••••        333 

Transubstantiation  .^  • ; ; ; ; :::;  i::"  i::::::;:;::! 195 

Trinity,  doctrine  of  the,  1 .....,,..• 414 

Turretin  quoted,  ii • 

.........  296 

Cnction  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  i ...« */.*'.** '.'.*.'..'.'. 204 

Unitarian  error  confuted  • • 


INDEX.  517 

Unity  of  God  defined,  i 107 

'  ..••..    XOI 

of  the  law  of  God,  ii ; 4^9 

Union  of  Christ,  and  the  believer  characterized,  i 20 

Ursinus  on  the  Decalogue,  ii *  4^9 

on  Baptism 227 

Variety  of  theological  opinions  concerning  the  descent  into  hell,  i.  . . .  401 
Vital  principle,  the,  ii 127 

Waterland,  Dr.,  quoted,  i ^^ 

Walchius,  a  famous  Lutheran,  ii 414 

Webster,  Daniel,  saying  of,  i ...!.!'.]'.!*..".."..".!  207 

Westminster  assembly,  ii 57,83,227 

Will  of  God ...398 

Wisdom  of  our  Lord  in  the  selection  of  the  sacramental  signs  and  seals  208 

Witsius  quoted,  i.  396,456,464;  ii 57 

World  the,  judged  by  God,  ii 9 


TABLE  OF  REFERENCES. 


519 


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xvi.  10 

xvii.  7 

xvii.  9, 10 

XXXV.  a 

IBSxodns  iv.  25,  26 

!X11«  ^Tt '  • 

xiv.  19,  20 

xvi.  22,  29 

iSllX*   -LI'. • 

XX.  1-17;  XX.  7 
xxiii.  20-23. . . . 

xxiv.  18 

xxiv.  5-8 

xxiv.  3,  8 

XX1V«  o.  .•■••«• 
XXX.  oK)  ....... 

xxxii.  4,  5 

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xxxi  V.  1 

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xii.  2,  4,  6.... 

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xvi.  16 

xvii.  11 

XIa*   Xo« ■•«••• 
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VI.  o  ....•••  1..  ' 

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xxix.  10-15. ii.. . 

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Job  XXV.  4 !)••  • 

Psalms  ii.  6 *•  •  • 

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xvi.  9,  10, 11 

•  •    •  Q 

xxii.  16 

xxxii.  2 

II*     I     ■•••••••« 

Ixviii.  18 

Ixviii.  18 

Ixxvi.  10. ... . 
xcv.  8-11  . . . . 

cxvi.  13 

cxix.  18 

Proverbs  xvi.  4 

Isaiah  vi.  8,  9 

XXV.  6 

XXXV.  10 

xliii.  25 

XllV.  u  ....... 

111.    Id   ........< 

AXl.  X.  ........ 

Ixi.l 

Ixi.  1 — o. 

Ixiv.  4 

Jeremiah  xxxi.  34. . . 

Ezekiel  xxxvi.  25,  27 

xxxvi.  25, 26 

Daniel  v.  12 

vi.  3 

Hosea  xiii.  14 

Joel  ii.  28-32 

11.   lio 

Zechariah  xiii.  1. . 


c    a    a    «     1«  • 

• 

.  •  •  •  •   !• • 

•     •     •     •ll«a 
,    .     •    •     •  11«  ■ 

•  •  •  •  !•  • 

I  •  •  •  •  !•  • 
»  •  •  •  •    1* • 

,  •  •  •  •  u«« 

,  «  •  •  • II*  * 
»  •  •  •     ll« • 

•  ■  •  •  •  !• « 
■  •  •  •  • *'• • 

•  •  •  •  • *i* • 
>  •  •  •  •11*  • 
I  •  •  •  • '1* • 

•  •  •  •  •  Al*  • 

»    m    •    •    •1I«* 

•  •    ■    •    • ll* • 

i.. 

•  •  •  •  •    A*  • 

•  •  •  •  •ll»« 
• •   •  •   • II* • 

,    •    a    •    . 11* . 

■!•  • 

«     •    •     a     •  II*  • 

ii.. 


V.  22;  X. 
...ii.....412 


•  •  •  *  « 


•  •    1*  I 

.  .11., 
.  .ii., 
.11., 


Matthew  i.  21. , 
iii.  16. 
V.  12. 


.  1. 

•  • 

.11. 

•  • 

.11. 


Page 
..493 
..  37 
,.171 
..254 
..455 
..140 
..292 
..306 
..397 
..458 
...367 
...157 
, . .239 
...413 
. . .465 
. .  .   55 
...34 
...267 
...189 
...56 
...34 
...271 
...140 
. . .  86 
...215 
...240 
...232 
...291 
. . .296 
...126 
. . .   o5 
...216 
. . .240 
...25 
...25 
...414 
...232 
. . .215 
. . .241 

...2OT 
. . .232 
...174 


•  This  Table  does  not  include  all  the  texts  quoted  in  these  volumes,  but  those 
only  whose  references  are  given. 


Matthew  vi.  20 

vii.  12 

vii.  27 

viii.  17 

X.  42 

xii.  31,  32. , 

xvi.  18 

xvi.  18,  19  . . 

xvii.  5 

xviii.  15,  21. 
xviii.  15-20. 
xxii.  37-40.. 
xxii.  37-40.. 
XXV.  31-46.. 
XXV.  31-46.. 
xxvii.  50  . . . 
xxviii.  19... 
XX viii.  19. . . 
xxviii.  20... 

Mark  ii.  27,  28 

vii.  1-4 

vii.  7 

ix.  31 

ix.  33 

X.  b 

xiv.  62 

xvi.  16 

xvi.  16 

Luke  i.  35 

i«  74,  75 

ii-  22 

iii.  16 

iii.  16 

iii.  22 

iij.  38 

VI.  27 

ix.  46 

X.  Zi 

xvii.  3,  4 

xxii.  24-30 

xxiii.  43 

xxiii.  46 

xxiv.  25,  27 

xxiv.  46-48 

xxiv.  50,  51 

John  i.  33 

i.  12 

111.  3 

iii.  5,  7. . 

iii.  18 

iii-  23 

vi.  53-57 

vii.  9 

XI.  lo 

XI.  25  .,.,,«.,,,. . 
xiii.  12,17 


Vol. 
.  .ii., 

•  • 

,  .11., 


,11. 


.11. 


.11.. 
.ii.. 
.ii.. 


.11. 


.  1., 
.ii.. 


. . .  .11.. 

•  •  •  •    1* • 

ii.. 

. . .  .ii.. 
. .  ..ii.. , 
. . .  .ii.. , 
. . .  .ii.. , 

•  •  •  *  U*  *  t 

>  «    •   • II*  a     I 

>  •    *    • II*  a     , 

. .  .ii.. . 

I    •  •     •  11*  a  • 

I     •  a     a      I*  a  a 

•  •  t  11*  a  • 

•  •  •  II*  a  • 

•  a  ■      I*  a  a 
■  a  •  11*  a  • 

. .  .ii.. . 

•  •  •  II*  a  a 

•  •  •  II*  a  • 

•  •  •      I*  a  a 

•  *  «  II*  a  a 

. .  .ii.. . 

•  *    •  II*  a    a 

•  •    •     I* 

. .  .ii. 


.11. 


.  .11. 

•  ■ 

.  .11. 


•     •      I*  a     a 

.  .11..  . 

•  •  II*  a     a 

•  •      1*  a     • 

. .  i.. . 


•  •■••• 


•  •   •  •  • 


•  •  !••  *  • 

•  * 

•  til**  •  , 

•  • II* •    a    « 

•  a  II*  a     I    a 

«     • l]«,     a    a 
■    •  II*  a    a    * 

.  .ii — 


.  1.. 
.ii.. 
.ii.. 


Page 

...174 
...43 
...173 
...58 
...173 
...30 
...58 
...349 
...458 
...84 
. . .d53 
. . .  36 
...412 
...157 
...173 
...24 
...205 
...245 
...206 
. . .479 
...230 
..191 
..426 
.354 
..250 
..318 
..207 
..220 
..  35 
..176 
..456 
..205 
..214 
. .  33 
..131 
. .  84 
..354 
. .  36 
..  82 
..354 
,.408 
, .  24 
.190 
.430 
.456 
.296 
.211 
.  32 
.214 
.154 
.2.36 
.332 
.458 
.456 
.  25 
.354 


Vol.     Pag« 

Johnxiv.  16 ii 33 

xiv.  26 ii 30 

XV.  1-5 ii 176 

XV.  26 ii 188 

XV.  5 ii 175 

XV.  1-8 i 160 

xvi.  8 ....ii 188 

xvii.  17 ii 191 

xviii.  37 ii 58 

xix.  30 ii 24 

XX.  21,  23 ii 351 

Actsi.  13, 14 i 454 

J-  " 1 458 

]•  1* i 456 

1.  69 i 456 


•  >     1*  a 

•  *     !•• 

** 

.  .11.. 


ii.' 23,  24-32 i.. . 

11.    A'X 

ii.  33 

ii.  2,  4 

u.  15 

11.  38,  39 

u.  oy. 

11.  38 

ii.  44,  45 

II*    Oa     a*a*a«*... 


•    •  •     •    « 


•    **••> 


11.. 

•  •     •  II*  a 

...ii.. 
. .  .ii.. 

*  • 

•  •    • l]«  a 

. .  .ii.. 

*  •    •    • I*  a 

*  •  •  II*  a 

*  •  • II* • 

*  «  all* a 
■  •  « II*  *    , 

•  •  *]!••  *  *  9^0 A 
»  •  •11*  •  •  *  *£oi 

I    •     a  II*  •    •   «    »        ox 

•  *»*II****  •  ^Uo 


.397 
.413 
.455 
.232 
.236 
.215 
.253 
.207 
.270 
.188 
.236 
.363 
.  35 
.207 
.  31 
34 


www         ^ 

111.  1. .. 
iv.  27  . 
v.  3,  4. 
vi.  24  . 
vii.  51. 
vii.  51. 
vii.  23. 

viii 

viii.  39 
viii.  36,  38. 

viii.  27-38 ii 207 

ix.  1-17 i 454 

ix.  18 ii 207 

^*   *'....  ...........  11.  ....  JdOj 

X.  11 11 352 

X.  4/ .11., ,,  ,205 

XI.  2o , 1 307 

xi.  13,  14 ii 254 

Xlll.  Ji , 11,,  , , .    31 

xiii,  35,  37 i 401 

XV.  y 11 372 

xvi.  33 ii 237 

xvii.  31 ii 7 

XIX.  1-0 , .  ii 215 

XX,  7 ii,  285,287 


XX.  28 
xxii.  16. .. 
xxviii.  25. 

Romans  i.  4 

i.  4 

i.  20-23 


)  *  •  •  •  ji*  •  •  •  •  oOti 
..219 
..  34 
..109 
..  32 
,.431 


•  •  •  • II*  * 

•  •  *  •  II*  * 

•  •    •    • II*  a 

•  •    •    • II* • 

•  •    •    •  Xl*  a 


620 


Bomans  ii.  6-11. . .  • 

iii.  10 

iii.  20 

iii.  21-28 . . 
iii.  19-26. .. 

iii.  28 

lY.  6 ' 

iv.  11 

V.  12-18. . . 
V.  l«f •  •  • » •  • 

VI*    4a  •  •  •-•  • 

VI.  9lm  »■••»• 

VII.  0.    .    •  ••  • 

vii.  13 

viii.  14-17. 
viii.  33,  34, 

X*  o*  •  •  * • • • 
XI*    I  •  •  •  *  • 

xi.  17-24. 
xii.  ^•*  •  •  • 

xiii.  10.  *• 
xiv.  18... 
XV.  13. . . . 
XV.  30. . . . 
xix.  12... 

iCor.i.  21 

i.  13,  16. . . . 

**"?L      ••  ••  • 
2.  SO'*  •....» 
]•  oil.  .•»•••■ 

11.    9...    ..•*• 

ii.  10, 11. . .  • 

11. 14.  •>••*■ 
II.  X4 •  < 

iii.  16 

V.  1—5 ..... 

V.  7 ,  o 

vi.  11. . .  ••  • 

vi.  20 

vi.  11 

vi.20 

vii.  14 

viii.  5,  6. . . 

X*  X . • • • • • • 

X.  16 

X.21 

xi.20 

xi.  26 

xi.  23-26. . 

xii.  3 

xii.  4-11. . 

xii.  13 

xii.  3 


TABLE  OF  REFERENCES. 


•■•••■■ 


«  '*<  •  m 
•  •  •<  • 


•  •  •  • 


■>.  *  »  •'  ' 

•  •  *  m 
mm  •  • 

*  »  •  • 

•  •  •  • 

•  «  •'  « 

*.  «»  •  «  4 

•  «  •  * 
«  *#  • 
t  m  •  m  * 


•  •  •  • 


»••••■ 


Vol.   Page 

.  .ii 366 

.  .ii 152 

,.ii 152 

.  .ii 154 

••        QQ 

i,.'.t*11. ....   vO 

,..ii 179 

,  ..ii 157 

.  ..ii 216 

. .  i 65 

..ii 158 

..ii 109 

..ii 235 

,,ii 154 

.  .ii 382 

.  .ii 32 

..ii 151 

.  .ii 160 

..ii 152 

. .  i 160 

...ii 151 

..240 
..  37 
..  6T 
..  30 
..  30 
..  30 
..190 
..207 
...  59 

.  •  •  •  I* ■ 

■  •  .II*  • 

«  ■ 

«  •  • all*. 

•  • 

II.. 

«  «  • •ll«* 

ii.. 
ii.. 
11.. 

•  • 

11.. 
ii 


1  Cot.  XV.  21-45 

XV.  42-49 

XV.  40. 

XV.  24 

XV.  35, 44 

XV.  51, 52 

XV.  55 

2  Cor.  iv.  6 

V.  JLm. 

V.  20 

XI.  y 

xii.  4 

Galatians  i.  17, 18 \\ 


Vol.  Page 
. .  i 66 


.  a  •II* • 
m    •  .ll** 

.. .  i.. 
• .  .ii.. 
. .  .ii.. 
. .  .ii.. 

•  •  •  *•  • 

.  .  .11.. 

•  •  •  !•< 


Ill, «  •  AJi*  •  ' 

B  •   •    !• •   ' 

«  •  • lit • 
f  ■ •ll« ■ 

•  • 

■  ■ 
f».  *  all** 

.ii. 


149 
.126 
.  30 
.187 
.381 
.  32 
.354 
.270 
.214 
.240 
.  32 
.240 
.255 
.429 

ii 233 

u 268 

ii 268 

ii 268 

ii 197 

ii 267 

ii 59 

.ii 30 

.ii 213 

.ii 186 

.i 325 

.i 424 


ii.  8-17. 
ii.  21.... 

ii.  21 

ii.  7-10. . . 

ii.  11 

iii.  27. . . . 

111. " 

iii.  27. . . . 

111.  B 

iii.  15 

iii.  10. . . . 
V.  22,  23. 

V.  6 

Ephesians  i.  20 

I*  I  •  •  •  •  •  • 

1*  xo 

i.  13, 14. 

i.  20 

i.  19-23 

11*  X.******' 

ii.  11-19.... 


!!•  Xo 

II.  1 

II.  ^v.  ...... 

ll.  O.  ....... 

ii.  18 

ii.  Xo. ...... 

ii.6,7 

ii.  5 11. . . . 


i 458 

.  32 
.110 
.116 
.110 
.399 
.180 
.188 
.226 
.410 
.352 
.408 
.207 
.415 
.154 
.169 
.350 
..352 
..235 
..255 
..207 
..190 
..190 
..171 
..214 
.  .372 
..  32 
..  82 
..189 
..214 
..109 
..443 
..  32 
..  59 

.11 33 

.ii 82 

.ii 176 

.ii 185 

.ii 213 

.ii 216 

.ii 443 

82 


a •ll* •  • 
,  ,  .  •  11  •  •  • 
,  ,  . •ll« •  ■ 
...  •ll« •    < 

.  ,  . .IK.  I 
.  «  •  .IK- 
,  ,  .  .II*. 
•  •  •  .IK* 
,  .  .  .It*. 
,  ,  ,  . 11»« 
.  «  •  .II* • 
.  ,  •  •  11« • 

,   ,    .   . ell*  • 

«  .  •  •11«  • 

.  ,  »  .]!•• 

•  • 
,  •  .  .ll*. 

,  .  .  ••■1«« 

■  • 

,   ,   ,   .ell** 

■ 

• » 
•  ,  •li«f 

■• 

. .  .11.. 


.11 175 

.ii 351 

.i 402 

.i 409 

.i 414 

.i 60 

.ii 455 

iv.15,16 ii 307 

iv.  22,  24 n 381 

iv.18 !J 175 

iv.l3 11 75 

iv.  30 11 31 

v.  30 11 176 


ii.  1 

ii.  20. . . . 

iv.9 

iv.  9 

iv.  8-10. . 
iv.  23,  24 
iv.  7,  8 


TABLE  OF  REFERENCES. 


521 


Ephesians  v.  8 

vi.  17 

Philippians  i.  21-23. . . 

ii.  13,18... 

iii.  21 

Colossians  1. 13 

ii.  12 

ii.  19 

11.  8 

iii.  5  

iii.  9,  10. . . . 

1  Thess.  iv.  15, 17 

1  Tim.  1.  5 

!•  15 

„^.      V.  16 

2Tim.iii.l6 

»,.,      .iii.  15,16,17.... 
Titus  m.  5 

*  *  *     K 

_,  ,      111'  5 

Hebrews  i.l;  ii.  5-9. . . . 

iv.  9-11 

iv.  14 

IX.  Ill , , 

ix.  10-14 

IX.  j.». ....,,,. 

ix.  18-22 

IX.  z^ 

X.  12-19,  20 . . . 
X.  zz , 

X.  *y , 

3c.  ^y 

xi   7 

XI.  26 , , , 

XI.  35 , 


Vol. 

Page 

. .  .11.. 

...175 

.  ..11.. 

...189 

.  ..11.. 

...410 

•   •    •ll*. 

...175 

•     •  •    la  a 

. . .458 

•     •  •11«. 

...152 

.  ..11.. 

...82 

.  .  .11.. 

...235 

.  .  .11.. 

...307 

.  .11.. 

...191 

.  .11.. 

..382 

.  .11.. 

..  60 

.  .11..  . 

..110 

•     •      1« ,     . 

..  37 

.  .11..  . 

..154 

••  1..  . 

..458 

..11..  . 

..  35 

..11... 

..191 

..11..  . 

..212 

•    11..  . 

..219 

•    •     *•  •     • 

..306 

.  .11... 

..479 

.  .  1..  . 

..457 

>  .11..  . 

..209 

•  11... 

..230 

.11... 

..  32 

.11... 

.2.39 

.11.... 

.212 

.  1 

.457 

.11 

.240 

■     ]•  •    •    • 

.439 

.11 

.293 

•II"   •    •    • 

.160 

•U«  •  •  • 

.174 

.11..  .  . 

.104 

TT  ,.                                         ^^^-      Page 
Hebrews  xii.  1,  2 ii 174 

=^H-2  ii i8g 

X"-  24 ii 240 

X  ..  ^"i-20 ii 293 

James  11. 10 ,•,•         171 

. .   _": II 171 

1  Peter  1.23 ii ggj 

?•?.•...• ii 240 

?:23;  1.  3 ii 189 

H:  ^■- ii 176 

]\\'^l ii 209 

?»-,^8.-- ii 32 

?II-319 i 408 

??f-21-- ii 221 

?!!-20,  21 ii 234 


*••••• 


'•••••• 


•  •  •  •   •  ■  •  . 


iii.  19,  20. . . 
iii.  18,  19... 
iv.  16 . . 
2  Peter  i.  21  . . , 

11.  D. . . , 

1  John  i.  10. . . . 
iv.  16 

iv.  21 

V.  6 .  .• 
Revelation  i.  l.i^lS 

ii.  7 

i»:21 i 410 

Vll.  14 ii....l74 

Vll.  19 i 41Q 

xii- 9 i 63 

XIV.  13 ii 174 

XX.  4,  5,6 i in 

XXI.  14 ii 351 

xxii.  1,  2 i 409 

xxii.  14 ii 58 


1.. 

ii.. 

i.. 
ii.. 

i.. 
.  i.. 

.  i.. , 

•  • 

.11.. , 

•  !•  •  I 

•  ]••  • 


.142 

.190 
.396 
.  35 
.142 
.427 
.  37 
.  37 
.372 
.455 
.408 


I' 


■ 


ON   THE 


CATECHISM. 


*  Translated  into  German.        f  A  German  title  to  a  Holland  Writer. 

t  A  Holland  Translation. 


Acronii  (RuardI).  Enarratio  Catholica,  qua  Qusestiones  Cate- 
chismi  Palatmo-Belgici  explicantur.     Scied.  1606.    4to. 

Acronii  (Ruardi).  Onderwysing  over  de  Christelijke  Catechis- 
mus.     Scied.  1608.     8vo. 

Alpen  (H.  S.  van).  Geschichte  und  Literatur  des  Heidelberd- 
schen  Katechismus.     Frankf.  1800.    8vo. 

Alpen  (H.  S.  van).  The  History  and  Literature  of  the  Heidel- 
berg Catechism.  Translated  by  /.  F.  Berg.  Philadelphia, 
1863.     8vo.  ^ 

Alpen  (H.  S.  van).  Oeffentliche  Katechisationen  iiber  den  Hei- 
delbergischen  Katechismus.    Frankf.  1796.     8vo. 

Alphen  (Hieron.  van).  Oeconomia  Catecheseos  Palatlnae    Trai 
adRhen.     1729.    4to.  '^' 

Alting  (Henr)  Scriptorum  Theologicorum  Heidelbergensium 
Tomus  in,  Continens  Explicationem  Catecheseos  Palatinae, 
cum  vmdicus  a  considerationibus  Novatorum,  et  Antithesibus 
bocmianorum.     Amst.  1646.    4to. 

Alting  (Henr.).  Katechisatie  over  den  Heidelbergsen  Catechismus. 
bteenw.  1662.    12mo. 

Alting  (Jac).  Analysis  Exegetica  Catecheseos  Palatinae.  0pp. 
Tom.  V.    Amst.  1687.  ^^ 

Altniann  (Joh.).  Catechetischer  Leuchter,  oder  Erklaerung  des 
Heidelbergischen  Catechismi.    Bern,  1711.    8vo. 


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4«  JImS.  '  KuHzer  und  eiaMtiger  Bericht.   (FoUows  the 
order  of  the  Catechism.)     Heid.  1593.  ,.     •  a.- 

4„A^«  (Barth.).    Analysis  Practica  HomUet  ca  Catechasmi  Ti- 
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^noSo- %-  Evangelisch-Kefonnirten  Kirc^^- ^j^^ 
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Reimen  entworfen.    Wesel,  1742.     4to.  . 

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schen  Katecbismus.    Leipz.  1793.    12mo.  T,tlarun.r 

^„o„jmou..     Anleitung  zu  besseren  VcMand  und  Erklarung 

des  Heidelbergischen  Catechismi.    Duisb.  lb»7. 
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Uber  den  Heidelbergscben  Catech«mu3.    Han.  1675.    8vo. 
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tripturae  et  sententiis  Sanctorum  Patrum  exornata  et  .llus- 

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Relirie.     Dort,  1594.     8vo.  . 

Bastingius    (Jeremias).      Exposition  or  Commentane   upon  *^ 

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WRITERS  ON  THE  CATECHISM. 


525 


Bekker  (Balth.).  Heidelberg  Catechism  for  the  Memory  of  Youth 
produced  in  Rhyme.     1665. 

Bekker  (Balth  ).  Provision  for  the  Spiritual  Growth  of  the  Youth 
of  the  Reformed  Netherland  Church.     1668.    8vo. 

Bekker  (Balth.).  Vaste  Spyse  der  Vohnaakten.  Leuw.  1670- 
72.     Amst.  1682.     8vo. 

Bois  (Gualt.  du).  Kort-Begryp  der  Waare  Christelyke  Leere,  Uit 
den  Heidelbergschen  Catechismus  uitgetrokken,  door  ordre  der 
Christelyke  Synode  te  Dordrecht,  Anno  1618  en  1619,  Met 
Eenige  Verklaaringe  over  elke  Vraage  verrykt,  voor  den 
Leer-lievenden  en  Begeerigen  tot  *s  Heeren  H.  Avondmaal. 
t'Zamengestelt  door  Gualtherus  du  Bois,  Bedienaar  des 
Godlyken  Woords,  in  de  Nederduitsche  Gereformeerde  Ge- 
meente  ter  Stede  Nieuw-York  in  America.  En  in  de  zelve 
ingevoert  door  Ordre  der  zelve  E.  Kerken-Raad.  Voor  heen 
te  N.  York  meer  dan  eens  Gedrukt.  —  Gedrukt  t*  Amster- 
dam, Te  Bekomen  by  Jacobus  Goelet,  tot  Nieuw-York. 
12mo,  pp.  66. 

(As  this  was  probably  the  first  American  contribution  to 
the  literature  of  the  Catechism,  the  title  is  given  entire. 
The  title-page  bears  no  date  ;  but  at  the  end  of  a  short 
introduction  to  the  work  occurs  the  followinsr :  — 
^' Aldus  gegeven  in  Nieuw-York  den  24.  April  1706. 

V.  Antonides, 

Eccl.  in  Midwoud,  S^c. 
Henricus  Beys, 

V.  D.  M.  in  Kingstowne.**) 
Bouck  (Engelb.  Franc,  de).    Explicatio  Catecheseos  Heidelber- 

gensis.     Hag.  1741.   4to. 
Bouma  (Gellius  de).     Vermerdeerde   Christelijke  Catechismus. 

Dort,  1658.    12mo.» 
Bouma  (Gellius  de).     Catechesis  Religionis  Reformatae  Analysi 

illustrata.     Zutph.  1651.    8vo. 
Brandii  Willemsonii  (Henr.).     Analysis  in  Catechesin  Religionis 

Christianae.  Lugd.  Bat.  1605.  8vo. 
Breukland  (Jac.).  Verhandeling  van  de  Leer  des  Genade-Ver- 
bonds  na  den  draad  des  Heidelbergschen  Catechismus.  Midd. 
1711.  8vo. 
Broessken  (Conr.).  The  Heidelberg  Catechism,  with  an  analysis 
by  which  the  strong  meat  is  reduced  to  milk.  Manheim,  about 
1700. 


526 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST  OF 


Mrunsen  (Ant.).    Einfaeltige   Glaubensfragen  iiber  den  Heidel- 

bergschen  Catechismum.     1691.     12mo. 
musing  (Job.  Christ.).    Entwurf  der  vornehmsten  Wahrheiten 

der  christlichen  Religion.    Bremen,  1769.     8vo. 
Cocceii  (Job.).   Heidelbergensis  Catechesis  Religionis  Christianae 

ex  S.   Scriptura  explicata  et  illustrata.     Lugd.  Bat.   1671. 

Cocceii  (Job.).  Heidelbergensis  Catecbesis  Religionis  Cbristianae 
ex  S.  Scriptura  explicata  et  illustrata.  Vertaald  door  Abr. 
Van  Foot.     Amst.  1673.     4to. 

Colonii  (PauU).     Disputationes  Catecbeticae.    Harderv.  1663. 

8vo.  . 

Coornhart  (Tbeod.  Volck.).    Proeve  van  den  Heidelbergiscben 

Catecbismus.     1583. 

Copius  (Baltb.).  Vier  und  funfzig  Predigten  iiber  den  alten 
Heidelbergiscben  Catecbismum.    Neustadt,  1685.   8vo. 

Coppensteinii  (Job.  Andr.).  Excalvinizata  Catecbesis  Calvino- 
Heidelbergensis.     Coin,  1621.     8vo. 

Coppensteinii  (Job.  Andr.).  Uncalviniscb  Heydelbergiscber  Ca- 
tecbismus Veruncalvinisiret  und  in  Romiscb-Catboliscb  be- 
kebrt.     Heid.  1624.     12mo. 

Crucius  (Jac).  Treasure  of  tbe  Christian  Soul.  54  Sermons  on 
tbe  Catecbism.     Amst.  1671.    4ta 

Curtenius  (P.).  Leerreden  over  den  Heidelbergscben  Catecbis- 
mus.    Leyd.  1790-92.    8vo. 

Cuylemborgh  (Emil).  Beginssel  der  Leere  Cbristi  voorgesteld, 
vol^rens  de  order  van  den  Heidelbergscben  Catecbismus.    Rott. 

1698.     8vo. 
Diestii  (Henr.)-    Epitome  Catecbeticarum  explicationum  Ursino- 

Paraeanarum     Harderv.  1633.     8vo. 
Diestii  (Henr.).    Mellificium  Catecbetieum.    Davent.  1653.   8vo. 
Diestii  (Henr.).     Condones  in  LII  Dominicas  Catecbismi  Heidel- 
bergensis.    Am.  1670.     4to. 
Driessen  (Ant.).     Ad  Catechesin  Heidelbergensem  metbodice  et 

apodietice  dilucidandam  Manuductio.     Gron.  1724.    4to. 
Duncani  (Mart.).     Catecbismus  Catbolicus,   Catecbismo  Heidel- 

bergensi  oppositus.     Antw.  1594. 
Enfant  (Jac.  V).    L'innocence  du  Catecbisme  de  Heidelberg  de- 

montree  contre  deux  libelles  d'un  Jesuite  du  Palatinat.    Amst. 

1728.     8vo. 


WRITERS  ON  THE   CATECHISM. 


527 


FahricH  (Tob.).  Erklarung  des  Pfaltzischen  Catecbismi.  Neust 
1586.    8vo. 

Fabritii  (Job.  Lud.)  und  Mayern  (Job.  Friedr.).  Nacbricbt  und 
Erklahrung  von  der  achtzigsten  Frage  des  Heidelbergiscben 
Catechisnu.    Leipz.  1720.     8vo. 

Fa/c^  (Nat.).    Nova  Reformatorum  Heidelbergensium  methodus 
mfestandi  Lutberanos,  placidae  disquisitioni  subjecta.  Wittenb 
4to. 

Ferry  (H.)  en  Brinkman  (C).     Verhandeling  van  den  Heidel- 
bergscben Catecbismus.     Utr.  1783-86.     8vo. 

Feylingius  (Job.  Wilh.).     Geschetste   Catecbismus.    Utr.  1705 
8vo. 

Feylingius  (Job.  Wilb.).    De  Waarbeid  der  Cbristelijke  Reli^ne 
beknoptelijk  uyt  de  Heidelbergscbe  Catecbismus  aangewes'en! 
Amst.  1710.   8vo. 

Fisher  (Sam,  K).  Exercises  on  tbe  Heidelberg  Catecbism.  Cbam- 
bersburg.     1844. 

Flacitcs  (Mattb.).     Wiederlegung  des  Calvinischen   Catecbismi 
Oleviam.     1563. 

Gargon  (Mattb.).    Eenige  Troost,  of  Heidelbergscbe  Catecbismus 

geopend  en  betoond.    Leid.  1713.    4to. 
Gentman  (Corn.).      Uytbreiding  over  den   Catecbismus.      Utr 

1692.     8vo. 

Gentman  (Com.).     Over  den  Catecbismus.    Amst.  1705.   4to 
Groenewegen  (Hend.).     Oeffeningen  over  den  Heidelbergscben 

Catecbismus.*     Goricbem,  1679.     Leid.  1698.    4to 
Groenewegen  (Hend.).    Katecbisatie,  of  Oeffeningen  over  aUe  de 

Hoofdgronden  des  ChristeHjke  geloofs.    Enkb.  1698.    12mo 
Hagen  (Pet.  van  der).    De  Heidelbergscbe  Catecbismus  ver- 

klaard.*     Amst.  1676.    4to. 
Hakvoort  (Bavend.).     Schole  van  Christus.     Amst.  1693.    8vo 
Hakvoort  (Barend.).     De  Heydelbergsche  Katecbismus  sakeUik 

uytgebreyd  en  verklaard.     Amst.  1715.     8vo. 
Hanfeldii   (Alb.).     Predigten   iiber  den  Pfaltziscben   Catecbis- 
mum.    Francf.  1684.    4to. 
^a^^em  (Pont.  van).     Verbandeling  en  nader  ontledingvan  den 

Heidelbergzen  Catecbismus.     Amst.  1692.    8vo 
Heshusius  (Tilem.).    Wamung  fiir  den  Heidelbergiscben  Gate- 

cbismum.    Erf.  1588.     8vo. 
Heussenius  (Nikol).   Catecbismus  der  Gereformeerde  Neerlandse 


528 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST  OF 


WRITERS  ON  THE  CATECHlSxM. 


529 


Kerken,  in  haar  Waarheid  bevestigd,  met  de  Getuygmssen  der 
Oud-Vaderen.    Rotterd.  1657.     8vo. 
Heussenius  (NikoL).      Gebeden  over  den  Catechismus.'    Leid. 

1655.     8vo. 

Heusterii  (Tilem.).  Grosser  Heidelbergischer  Catechismus,  mit 
Beweisthum  der  alten  Kircbenlehrer.f    Francf.  1671.    8vo. 

Hoeke  (Pet.  van).  Lucubrationes  in  Catechismmn  Palatinmn. 
Lugd.  Bat.  1711.   4to. 

Hofmann  (Jac).  Heidelbergischer  Katechismus,  mit  einer  deut- 
lichen  Zergliederung  und  erbaulichen  Anwendung.     1654. 

Hommius  (Festus).  De  Leere  der  Gereformeerde  Kerke,  vervat 
in  den  Heidelbergschen  Katechismus,  in  Tafelen  voorgesteld, 
door  L.  V,  Broek  verbeterd  en  verrykt,  met  een  Yoorreden 
van  den  Hr.  Nikol.  WiLtens.     Amst.  1723.     8vo. 

HoneH  (Job.  van  den).  Vertoog  van  den  Schakel  der  Evangeli- 
waarheden  die  begrepen  zyn  in  den  Heidelbergschen  Kate- 
chismus (ingelascht  in  de  Tweede  Versameling  van  H.  Men- 
gelstoffen).     Leid.  1728. 

Hoohgt  (Everh.  van  der).  Grondige  Verklaring  over  den  Heidel- 
bergschen Catechismus.     Amst.  1714.     8vo. 

Hooght  (Everh.  van  der).  De  Heidelbergse  Catechismus  ver- 
handelt  in  de  Nieuwendammer  Kerk.     Amst.  1696.    8vo. 

Hulsii  (Ant.).  Opus  Catecheticum  Didactico-Polemicum,  quo 
praeter  analyticam  Catecheseos  Palatino-Belgicae  expositio- 
nem,  CLXXXIV  Controversiae  Theologicae,  ad  Catecheti- 
cum ordinem  redactae,  ventilantur.     1673.    Lugd.  Bat.  1676. 

Isselhurgii  (Henr.).    Catechesis  Religionis  Christianae  Anatome. 

Brem.  1614.     8vo. 
Isselhurgii  (Henr.).     Anatome  Catechesis  Heidelbergensis,  in  qua 
Consensus  cum  Romanensibus,  et  dissensus  ab  iis  ostenditur. 

Brem.  1619.     8vo. 
Kemp  (Joh.  van  der).     De   Christen  geheel  en  al  't  eygendom 
van  Christus,  vertoond  in  LIII  Predikatien  over  den  Heidel- 
bergzen  Catechismus.   Date  of  preface,  1717.     Rotterd.  1722. 

4to. 
Kemp  (Joh.  van  der).    The  Christian  entirely  the  Property  of 
Christ  in  Life  and  Death,  exhibited  in  53  Sermons  on  the  Hei- 
delbergh  Catechism.     Translated  by  Rev.  John  M.  Van  Har- 
lingen.    New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  1810.     8vo. 


Hj 


Kindler  (Joh.  Pet.).      Die   Heidelberger  Katechismus  Method. 

Bearb.  und  erlautcrt.     Erlangen,  1846.     8vo. 
Klaarhout  (Christian).     Luister  der  Hervormde  Kerke  uitblin- 

kende  in  den  Heidelbergischen  Catechismus,  met  Vragen  en 

Antwoorden  in  Digtmaat  gestelt.     Amst.  1725.     8vo. 
Knihhe  (Dav.).     Leere  van  de  Gereformeerde  Kerke,  volgens  de 

order  van  den  Heidelbergzen  Catechismus,  verklaard  en  be- 
vestigd.    Leid.  1696.     4  to. 
Knihhe  (Dav.).    De  Heidelbergze  Catechismus  verklaard.     1692. 

Leid.  1694.     8vo. 
Korstens  {Corn.).  Uytlegging  des  Catechismi.  Amst.  1650.    8vo. 
Krall  (Matt.).     Predigten  iiber  den  Heidelberger  Katechismus. 

Elberfeld,  1833.     8vo. 
Kuchlini  (Joh.).      Catechismus  Disputationibus  Catecheticis  ex- 

phcatus.     Gen.  1612.    4to. 
Lampe  (Fred.  Ad.).    Melk  der  Waarheid  volgens  aanleyding  van 

den  Heidelbergzen  Catechismus.     Amst.  1721.     8vo. 
Lanshergii  (Phil.).     Catechesis  Religionis  Christianae  Sermonibus 

LIT  expHcata.     Middelb.  1594.     4to. 
Lanshergii  (Phil.).     Catechesis  Religionis  Christianae  Sermonibus 

LII  explicata,  in  't  Neerlands  vertaald  door  Joh.  Ghys.   Amst. 

1G45.     8vo. 
Lantmann  (Thadd.  de).     Korte  aanleyding  tot  de  Leere  der 

Waarheid.     Hag.  1678.     8vo. 
Laurentii  (Jac).     Catechesis  Heidelbergensis  Orthodoxa  contra 

censuram  et  excalvinizationem  /.  A.    Coppensteinii.    Amst. 

1625.  8vo. 

Laurentii  (Jac).     Apologia  Catechismi  Heidelbergensis.     Amst. 

1626.  8vo. 

Laurentii  (Jac).  Invlcta  Veritas,  sive  refutatio  castigationis 
Coppensteinianae  in  A\)o\og\Bxn  Laurentii.     Amst.  1627.    8vo. 

Leidekker  (Melch.).  Commentarlus  ad  Catechesin  Palatinam. 
Ultraj.  1694.     4to. 

Leren  (Dan.  Van).    Meditatlen  over  den  Catechismus.     AarnL.  - 

1636.     8vo. 
Lief  sting  (F.).     De  Leer  der  Gereformeerde  Kerk  naar  den  leid- 

raad  van  de  Heidelbergsche  Catechismus.    Leeuw.  1809-10. 

8vo. 

Linden  (J.  van  der).  Proeve  en  vflje  behandeling  van  den  Hei- 
delbergschen Catechismus.     Gron.  1825.     8vo. 

34 


i 


.*♦ 


VOL.  U. 


"ry 


r 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST  OF 


■      f 


530 

LMeni  (Slbrand).    Commentarius  in  Catecbesiu  Palatino-Belg,- 

^.Str).  ?:::SuSoeae.UBe,,i.  G.on.ie.. 
JI- (San,.).  Abr^g^fammcrduCateehUme  Ordinaire.  Hei^ 
K;Sm":;:    Sun,n.a  Capita  ^;rinaeC..^tian.  ,uae  con- 

^^":::;iS?;«JSadist^^^^^^^^ 

A/artinii  (Matt.).    |^elion  connnune  Chnstianorum. 

..  *""mL%;     Universorum  Religionis  Christianae  Capitum, 
^~  i^nfibuscirticis  contiLtur,  Paraphrasis  ApHor. 

MiS-'Grotr-CatecHizatie  over  den  Catecbisn... 
uXl  S.^Kleynere  CateeWie  over  den  CUristeUjUen 
M<.r  (aTM.  SrCater;^sPalatinaePopularis.  Gron. 

A,.- 'Ah.  B™nK).    Milch  und  Starke  Speise;  oder  Predigten 

%L  den  Heidelbergischen  Catechismum.     Brem.  1684.     8vo. 

w         /r  It    Catechismu3  Hcidclbergensis  resolutus,  exphca- 

iW«en  (Gerh.).    Catecmsmus  =    ,       jigy.  jsTg.  8vo. 

»»  c  Qr-rintiirae  testimonus  corroDoraius.  iicm.  * 

tus,  et  S_  S<="Pt"^a«  ^^         ^^  p^,^ti„i.  Vitcmb.  1G69.  4to. 

Umnen  W"  ^''^^^^be-rip  der  voomaamste  geschillcn  tus- 

^^tKwti  G^r^^erle.  e„de  de  Wdendaag.e  Eoon.e 

Kerk,  na  de  order  van  den  Christelyken  Cateeln«mus.     1693. 

.wJr(Bem.).    Erklamng  nnd  Befestignng  des  ChristUcb  Re- 

formirten  Catechismi.     Elberf.  1732.    8vo  ^^^^ 

MUgs  (Lud.  Geo.).    Gottselige  Auslegung  des  He.delberg.schen 

Catechismum.    Frankf.  1746.    4to.  •j^iw.r.rpnsem 

Af J;;mae  (Wilh.).     Meditationes  in  Catechesm  Heidelbergensem. 

Tjigd.  Bat.  1684.    8vo.  Heidelbergzen  Cate- 

M<mmae  (Wilh.).    Bedenkingen  over  den  Ueiaeiner^ 

chismus.     Amst  1685.     8vo. 


WRITERS  OK  THE  CATECHISM. 


531 


I 


\ 


Montani  (Arnold.).     Religionis  Christianae  Catechesis,  analysi  ad 
margmem  illustrata,  et  uniuscujusque  Dominicae  Catecheticae 
compendio  locupletata.     Amst.  1664.     8vo. 
Montani  (Arnold.).     Korte  Katechizatie  over  den  Heidelbergzen 

Catechismus.    Amst.  1659.     12mo. 
Moolenaar  (Sim.).     Bybelmerg,  of  Kort  begrip  der  Ware  God- 
geleerdheid  vervattet    in    den  Heydelbergzen   Catechismus. 
Amst.  1723-25. 
Mornhach  (Joh.).    Rettung  der  Catholischen  Lehre,  welche  in 

dem  Heidelbergischen  Catechismo  verfasset  von   Coppenstein 

m  Romisch  Catholisch  verkehret  worden.     Basl.  1627.    8vo. 
Muslin  (D.).    Handleiding  tot  gebruik  van  den  Heidelbergischeii 

Catechismus.     Zwolle,  1818-20.     8vo. 
Mylii  (Conr.).    Meletemata   Catechetica,  sive  in   Catechismum 

Heidelbergensem  Homiliae.     Amst.  1654.     8vo. 
Nevin  (J.  W.).    History  and  Genius  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism. 

Chambersburg,  1847.     12mo. 
Oostrum  (Ant.  van).    Korte  en  beknopte  Katechisatie  over  den 

Heidelbergzen  Catechismus.*    Dort,  1 704.     8vo. 
Otterhein  (G.  Gottf.).    Predigten  iiber  den  Heidelberger  Kate- 

chism.     Duisb.  1800.     8vo. 
Outrein  (Joh.  d').     Gouden  Kleynoot  van  de  Leer  der  Waarheid, 

vervattet  in  den  Heidelbergschen  Catechismus,  met  de  aan- 

merkingen  en  vermeerderingen  van  Fr,  Ad.  Lampe*    Amst. 

1719,  1724.     4to. 

(Van  Alpen  pronounces  it  the  most  valuable  work  on  the 
Catechism.) 

Paraei  (Joh.  Phil).     Catechesis  Religionis  Christianae  succincta 

Analysi  Logica  et  Exegesi  Theologica  explicata.   Neost.  1615; 

4to.     Francof.  1615;  8vo.     Han.  1624;  8vo. 
Parei  (Dav.).    Miscellanea  Catechetica.    Brem.  1623.     8vo. 
Pauli  (Geo.  Jac).    Heidelbergischer  Katechismus,  mit  kurzen 

Erlauterungen  und  vielen  Zeugnissen  der  H.  Schrift.     Halle, 

1781.     8vo. 

Paulus  (Herm.  Reinh.).  Heidelbergischer  Catechismus;  oder 
Kurtzer  Unterricht  Christlicher  Lehre.     Hal.  1740.     12mo. 

Pavonstett  (Joh.  Adol.).  Kurtzer  Aufsaz  der  Fragen  in  der 
Christ.  Religion  nach  der  Ordnung  des  Heidelberg.  Kate- 
chism.     Duisburg  am  Rhein,  1698.     8vo. 

Peenius  (Adam).  Catechizatie  over  den  Heidelbergzen  Cate- 
chismus.    Leid.  1G76.     12mo. 


/, 


fi  I 


682 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  LIST  OF 


Pincerus  (Job.).    Catechesis  Religionis  Ecclesiarum  Palatinarum. 

(Ita  adornata  ut  poeticam  paraphrasin  comprehendat.)    Ligen. 

Nass.  1597.     8vo. 
Piscatoris  (Job.).     Explicatio  Catectesis  Heidelbergensis.    Herb. 

1603.     8vo. 
Plante  (Franc).    Epigrammata  Sacra  in  Catacbesin.      Lugd.  B. 

1679.     12mo. 
Pothwjsen  (Splint,  van).     Sleutel  der  Kennis,  ofte  een  verklanng 

van  de  Leere  der  Waarbeid  volgens  de  ordre  van  den  Cbriste- 

lijken  Catecbismus.     Utr.  1717.     8vo. 
Poudroyen  (Corn.).    Catecbisatie,  dat  is,  een  grondige  en  een- 

voudige  Onderwysing  over  de  Leere  des  Cbristelijken  Cate- 
cbismus.    Amst.  1659.    8vo. 
Professoren.     Cbrlstlicbe  Erinnening  der  Reformirten  Professoren 

Theologiae  zu  Heidelberg  auf  die  Catbolisebe  Anmerckungen 

iiber  den  Heydelbergischen  Catecbismus,  etc.  etc.    Christiani 

Rittmeyers.    Heid.  1707.    4to. 
Remonstrantium.     Considerationes  in  Catecbesin  Heydelbergen- 

sem.     (In  Act.  et  Script.  Synod.)     Harderw.  1620. 
Reuteri  (Quir.).     Catccbesis  Cbristianae  Religionis  explicata  cum 

quorundum  Tbeologomm  censuris  in  banc  Catecbesin.     Heid. 

1585.     8vb. 

Ridderus  (Franc).  Sevenvoudige  Oeffening  over  de  Catecbis- 
mus.   Rotterd.  1671.     4to. 

Rodolph  (J.  Rod.).  Catecbesis  Palatina  illustrata.  Brem.  1697. 
Fran.  1705.     8vo. 

Roell  (Herm.  Alex.).  Explicatio  Catecbesis  Heidelbergensis.  Ultr. 

1728.  4to. 
Schaeldii  (Ueinb.).    Predigten  iiber  den  Heidelbergiscben  Cate- 

cbismum.     Danz.  und  Leipz.  1 754.     8vo. 
Scheffer  (W.).     Proeve  en  bebandeling  van  den  Heidelbergscben 

Catecbismus.     Amst.  1849.     8vo. 
ScJiotani  (Cbristian.).     Partitiones  Tbeologicae  ;  seu  Ars  Ursino- 

Amesiana  in  Catecbesin  Palatino-Belgicam.     Fran.  1663.  4to. 
Schotel  (G.  D.  F.).     Gescbiedenis  van  den  Oorsprong,  de  Invoe- 

rintr,  en  Lotcrevallen  van  den  Heidelbergscben  Katecbismus. 

Amst.  1863. 

ScMtens  (J.  J.).  Briefwisseling  met  D.  J.  Baruetb  over  den  Hei- 
delbergscben Catecbismus.     Dordr.  1776.    4to. 

»€xtram  (Herm.  Ewald).  Cbristlicber  Catecbismus  in  zwei  und 
funfzig  Predigten.    Marpurg,  1612.    4to. 


WRITERS  ON  THE  CATECHISM. 


633 


f 


Sibelii  (Casp.).     Meditationcs   Catecbeticae.      Deven.   1646-50. 

Amst.  1650.     4  vols.    4to. 
Sibersma  (Hero).     Fonteyn  des  Heils,  aangewesen  in  den  Hei- 

delbergsen  Catecbismus.*     Leoward.  1692,  1694-96.     Amst. 

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534 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   LIST   OF 


WKITERS  ON  THE  CATECHISM. 


535 


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(This  work  was  not  prepared  for  the  press  by  Ursinus 
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by  whom  he  was  judged  to  be  peculiarly  fitted  for  the 
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Schrift  angezogene  Zeugnisse,  nebst  Antwort  und  Gegenfrag 
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